Detroit -June 7, 2024 .
A myriad of Detroit’s greatest musical exports, including Diana Ross, Eminem and Jack White, took to the stage in a pulsating sonic spectacle held on the eve of the historic reopening of an 18-story structure that had long symbolized their hometown’s decline.
The 90-plus-minute “Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central” on Thursday night celebrated the city’s refurbished train station, which reopens to the public on Friday, six years after Ford Motor Co. took control of the building and more than three decades since the last train pulled out.
The vacant Michigan Central Station fell into disrepair and became an emblem of the Motor City’s decay. That is until 2018, when Ford announced it was buying the building and adjacent structures as part of the carmaker’s plans for a campus focusing on autonomous vehicles.
“Six years ago, we gathered here, and we dreamt of what was possible. We dared to dream that this station, which had become a symbol of a broken city, could once again shine as the symbol of the Motor City,” Bill Ford, his namesake company's executive chairman, told the crowd before Ross, the Motown superstar, opened the festivities with “I'm Coming Out.”
The sold-out, ticketed, outdoor event that streamed live on Peacock also featured performances by 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. Organizers said 20,000 people attended the event. And more than 60,000 are planning to tour the train station over the next 10 days.