A former Detroit eyesore comes back to life as Diana Ross, Eminem, and Jack White play for thousands of people.
Written by Mike Householder The Press Association
Last updated: 60 minutes ago
Published at 8:49 p.m. on June 6, 2024
On Thursday, June 6, 2024, in Detroit, musician Jack White waves prior to receiving an accolade from Michigan Central Station. (Photo by Carlos Osorio/AP)[PRESS ASSOCIATED/Carlos Osorio]
DETROIT (AP) — Several of Detroit’s biggest musical exports, such as Diana Ross, Eminem, and Jack White, performed live on Thursday night in a throbbing musical extravaganza that took place the night before the historic reopening of an eighteen-story building that had long stood for the decline of their hometown.
Six years after Ford Motor Co. took over the structure and more than three decades after the last train left, the 90-plus-minute “Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central” honored the city’s renovated train station, which opens to the public on Friday.
The abandoned Michigan Central Station deteriorated and came to represent the decline of the Motor City. That is, that is, until Ford declared in 2018 that it was going to purchase the building and the buildings next to it in order to develop a campus dedicated to driverless vehicles.
When we got together here six years ago, we had dreams about what may be. The executive chairman of the firm bearing his name, Bill Ford, addressed the assembly before Motown icon Diana Ross kicked off the celebrations with “I’m Coming Out.” “We dared to dream that this station, which had become the symbol of a broken city, could once again shine as a symbol of the Motor City,” Ford said.
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Big Sean, the Clark Sisters, Common, Fantasia, Melissa Etheridge, and others performed at the ticketed, sold-out outdoor event that was live broadcast on Peacock. Actors Taylor Lautner and Sophia Bush, as well as current Lions stars Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown, were among the presenters, including Detroit Lions great Barry Sanders.
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On Thursday, June 6, 2024, in Detroit, Slum Village members Young RJ, left, and T3, right, pose before receiving recognition from the Michigan Central Station. (Photo by Carlos Osorio/AP)
Associated Press/Carlos Osorio photo
giant Sean stated of the rail station, “It was just a big eyesore for most of my life.” It’s a haven within the metropolis. It serves as a metaphor for all of us: this is our time.
Paul Rosenberg, Eminem’s longtime manager, and he executive produced the concert. Although Eminem was not supposed to play, he shocked the audience by electrifying the crowd with a powerful set that included his brand-new hit “Houdini,” “Not Afraid,” and the perfectly fitting “Welcome 2 Detroit.”
While Eminem’s performance was undoubtedly the night’s high point for many in attendance, White’s performance wasn’t far behind.
When White began to play the opening chords of the iconic song “Seven Nation Army,” which he recorded while a member of The White Stripes, he was greeted with an enthusiastic applause. White had said that he and his band were “going to play a few songs that were written a few blocks away from right here.” White, who grew up close to MCS, used one hand to hold his guitar high above his head while fireworks behind him lighted up the station.
Rising high above Detroit’s Corktown area, the massive structure was for years destroyed by urban explorers and scavengers. The station will now act as the focal point of a revived Corktown and a large 30-acre (12-hectare) mobility innovation center. It’s anticipated that the initiative will create thousands of tech-related employment. New hotels, eateries, and other service-related enterprises are already relocating to and around Corktown.
The train station’s reactivation coincides with a slight revival in Detroit.
The city has stabilized its finances, stopped population losses, and made progress in clearing blight from its 139 square miles (360 square kilometers) after emerging from its agonizing bankruptcy ten years ago. When over 775,000 people flocked to downtown Detroit over the course of three days in April, the city broke attendance records for the NFL draft.
Bill Ford remarked, “I just love seeing everybody in our city happy.”
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