As Michigan Central Station gears up for its much-anticipated grand opening this week, the company is rolling out a roster of A-list Detroit talent for its Thursday concert.
Diana Ross, Big Sean, Jack White, Slum Village and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra are some of the artists that will perform Thursday at “Live From Detroit: The Concert” at the Corktown train station, according to a news release.
The sold-out event will stream live exclusively on Peacock Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
Additionally, NBC will air a one-hour primetime special Sunday starting at 7 p.m. The
concert will also stream locally on Local 4+ and ClickOnDetroit.com.
The specials on Peacock and NBC will be produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment, while the concert is produced by Eminem and his longtime manager Paul Rosenberg.
The concert is part of Ford Motor Co. and Michigan Central’s “Michigan Central OPEN,” an 11-day celebration featuring short films, appearances by local leaders, exhibits, entertainment and art installations, as well as an open house of the renovated station.
Other Michigan performers at “Live From Detroit: The Concert” include Illa J, Kierra Sheard, Theo Parrish, Slum Village, the Clark Sisters and Sky Jett. The rest of the lineup includes Common, Fantasia, Melissa Etheridge and Jelly Roll. Detroit Lions Barry Sanders and current players Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown will present at the show, as well as comedian/actor Mike Epps and actress Sophia Bush.
“We wanted to celebrate the reopening of Michigan Central Station in style and make it a night to remember for Detroiters and people watching around the world,” Bill Ford, executive chair of Ford, said in a Monday news release. “I am honored and grateful that so many of Detroit’s musical legends, sports heroes, artists and innovators are joining us to celebrate the city we all love and the bright future we are creating together.”
After the 11-day reopening celebration wraps on June 16, Michigan Central will begin a phased reactivation of the station over the next several months as restaurant, retail, and
other commercial and community-focused partners take up residency, said the release.
The first floor will be open to visitors for self-guided tours from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays from June 21 to Aug. 31. Expanded hours will be announced for the fall, when the first phase of commercial activations opens to the public.
Awesome to see the Michigan Central rehab FINALLY happen! I remember arriving in the station in the last days of Amtrak service-early/mid 80s? It was a mess! I’ll be watching Thursday! Thanks for the great writing!
I am ecstatic about Ford’s restoration of the train station where my Grandpa, Alfred Wilfred Doolittle, worked for 43 years for New York Central Railroad and then retired in November of 1960. He worked his way up from brakeman in May 1917 to Yardmaster and I am so proud of his legacy in my hometown of Detroit! My Grandpa, his siblings, and my Great Grandmother emigrated to Detroit in 1898 from Dover, Kent, Ontario, Canada. My Great Grandpa, Alexander James Doolittle, was born here in Detroit in 1858. Michigan Central Station is beautiful again and I couldn’t be happier about it.