Jack White, Diana Ross, Big Sean, and more also delivered mini-sets at all-star show celebrating reopening of Motor City landmark
Eminem served as the surprise final act at Thursday’s all-star Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central, where the rapper performed his new single “Houdini” live for the first time as well as brought out Jelly Roll for an updated rendition of “Sing for the Moment.”
The concert, co-executive produced by Eminem, was a celebration of the reopening of the Motor City’s transit hub, Michigan Central, which was long rundown and shuttered before undergoing a multiyear refurbishment that culminated in Thursday’s concert.
In addition to the debut of “Houdini” and Jelly Roll’s appearance on the Aerosmith-sampling single off 2002’s The Eminem Show, Slim Shady also performed Trick Trick’s “Welcome 2 Detroit” for the first time in nearly 15 years, as well as “Not Afraid.” Eminem’s entire set was backed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central, which streamed live on Peacock, also featured mini-sets from Detroit legends like Jack White, Diana Ross, Big Sean, and Slum Village. A trio of out-of-towners — Jelly Roll, Melissa Etheridge, and Fantasia — took part in a musical tribute to the Motor City’s Bob Seger, with Jelly Roll performing that rocker’s “Turn the Page.”
Jack White’s three-song set, his first live performance in over a year, included a pair of White Stripes classics (“Hotel Yorba” and “Seven Nation Army”) along with a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Hear My Train a Comin’.”
A one-hour version of Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central will be broadcast as an NBC concert special on June 9.