DETROIT — Several of Detroit’s greatest musicians, including Diana Ross, Eminem and Jack White, took the stage Thursday night for a spectacular concert on the eve of the historic reopening of the 18-story building that has long symbolized their hometown’s decline.
The more than 90-minute “Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central” celebrates the city’s renovated train station, which opens to the public Friday, six years after Ford Motor Co. took control of the building and more than three decades after the last train left it.
The vacant Michigan Central Station fell into disrepair and became a symbol of the Motor City’s decay. That was until Ford announced in 2018 that it was purchasing the building and surrounding structures as part of the carmaker’s plans for a campus focused on autonomous vehicles.
“Six years ago, we gathered here, and we dreamed what was possible. We dreamed that this station, which had become a symbol of a broken city, could once again shine as a symbol of the Motor City,” Bill Ford, executive chairman of his namesake company, told the crowd, before Motown superstar Ross kicked off the festivities with “I’m Coming Out.”
The sold-out, ticketed, outdoor event, which aired live on Peacock, also featured performances from Big Sean, the Clark Sisters, Common, Fantasia, Melissa Etheridge and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Presenters included Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders, current Lions stars Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown, and actors Taylor Lautner and Sophia Bush.
“For most of my life it was just a big eyesore,” Big Sean said of the train station. “It’s an oasis in the middle of the city. It’s a metaphor for all of us: right now is our time.”
The concert was executive produced by Eminem and his longtime manager Paul Rosenberg. Eminem was not scheduled to perform, but he surprised attendees by closing the show with a spectacular set including his new single, “Houdini”, “Not Afraid” and most fittingly, “Welcome 2 Detroit”.
Eminem’s appearance may have been the highlight of the night for those in attendance, but White’s performance wasn’t far behind.
Announcing that he and his band were “going to play some songs that were written a few blocks from right here,” White received a rousing response when he played the opening notes of “Seven Nation Army,” a song he recorded as a member of the White Stripes. White, who grew up just blocks away from the MCs, held his guitar above his head with one hand while fireworks lit up the station behind him.
For years the massive structure was vandalized by scavengers and urban explorers and it towered over Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. Now the station will serve as the base for a sprawling 30-acre Mobility Innovation District and a resurgent Corktown. The project is expected to bring thousands of tech-related jobs. Restaurants, new hotels and other service-industry businesses are already popping up in and around Corktown.
The decision to reopen the railway station comes at a time when Detroit is undergoing a renaissance.
A decade after emerging from its painful bankruptcy, the city has stabilized its finances, halted population decline and made progress cleaning up the mess that littered its 139 square miles. In April, Detroit set an attendance record for the NFL draft when more than 775,000 fans descended on the city over three days.
“It makes me so happy to see everybody happy in our city,” Bill Ford said.
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