DETROIT.- Some of Detroit’s biggest stars, including Diana Ross, Eminem and Jack White participated in a vibrant sound show held on the eve of the historic reopening of their 18-story train station, which long symbolized the decline of their hometown.
The 90-plus-minute concert Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central celebrated the city’s renovated train station, which opened to the public six years after Ford Motor Co. took control of the building and more than three decades after for the last train to leave.
Michigan’s empty Central Station fell into decay and became an emblem of the Motor City’s poor state. That was until 2018, when Ford announced it would purchase the building and adjacent structures as part of the automaker’s plans for a plant focused on autonomous vehicles.
Six years ago, we gathered here and dreamed of what was possible. “We dared to dream that this station, which had become a symbol of a broken city, could shine again as the symbol of the Motor City,” CEO Bill Ford told the crowd before Ross, The Motown superstar will kick off the festivities with Im Coming Out.
The sold-out outdoor event, which streamed live on Peacock, also featured performances by Big Sean, 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 will tour the train station over the next 10 days.
For most of my life, it was a big eyesore, Big Sean said of the station. It’s a metaphor for all of us: it’s our moment right now.
The concert was produced by Eminem and his longtime manager, Paul Rosenberg. Eminem was not scheduled to perform, but he surprised attendees by closing the show with an exciting set that included his new single, Houdini, Not Afraid and, very appropriately, Welcome 2 Detroit.
Eminem’s appearance may have been the highlight of the night, but White’s performance was not far behind.
Announcing that he and his band were going to play a pair of songs tonight that were written just a few blocks away, White was met with a thunderous response when he strummed the opening chords of his anthem Seven Nation Army, which he released in 2003 when he was part of by The White Stripes. White, who grew up not far from the station, held his guitar above his head with one hand as pyrotechnics lit up the building behind him.
The hulking structure, which towers above the Corktown neighborhood, was devastated for years by squatters. It will now serve as the anchor for a sprawling 30-acre mobility innovation district and the resurgence of Corktown. The project is expected to generate thousands of technology-related jobs. Restaurants, new hotels and other service industry businesses have begun to move into and around the neighborhood.
The reopening of the train station also comes as Detroit is enjoying a minor renaissance.
A decade after emerging from its painful bankruptcy, the city has stabilized its finances, slowed the migration of its inhabitants and made progress in eliminating pests in its 360 square kilometers (139 square miles). In April, Detroit set an attendance record for the NFL draft when more than 775,000 fans descended on downtown over three days.
I love seeing everyone in our city happy, said Bill Ford.
FUENTE: AP
