Detroit, MI
Fans chant ‘U-S-A!’ while George Strait honors law enforcement at Ford Field concert
The country music legend performed Saturday night in Detroit.
Chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” broke out Saturday night during George Strait’s concert at Ford Field, as the country legend introduced “The Weight of the Badge,” his tribute to law enforcement from his 2019 album “Honky Tonk Time Machine,” just hours after the apparent assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.
On stage, the 72-year-old stalwart was thanking law enforcement for their hard work during the lead up to the song. “We appreciate you very much,” Strait said, adding, “especially after today.” That sparked a roar from the crowd, as Strait paused and let the moment take hold.
News of the shooting had spread slowly through the Ford Field crowd during the lead up to opener Chris Stapleton’s set, as some fans flashed headlines to one another on their phones. Strait never mentioned Trump by name, but at the conclusion of the song he held his hand over his heart, as photos of Bradley Reckling, the Oakland County deputy killed last month in what was described as an ambush, flashed on the stage’s video screens at the close of the song.
Those were heavy moments in what was otherwise a jovial celebration of Strait’s 40-plus year career in country music. It was his first local concert since a 2014 visit to the Palace of Auburn Hills, and it’s not necessarily his last in the Motor City: While he put a bow on his touring career a decade ago, he’s been touring steadily since his return to live music over the last few years, and he played to a packed audience of 47,065 fans on Saturday night.
His 30-song set, which lasted two hours and 10 minutes, included classics from his catalog, covers of songs by country music Mount Rushmore candidates Waylon Jennings (“Waymore’s Blues”), Merle Haggard (“Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck was Still Silver)”), Willie Nelson (the Merle Haggard duet “Pancho and Lefty”) and Johnny Cash (“Folsom Prison Blues”), and songs from his forthcoming new album “Cowboys and Dreamers,” which is due in September.
Then there was a song dedicated to the tequila brand Strait is invested in (“if it’s not your favorite, you just haven’t tried it,” Strait told the audience prior to “Codigo”) and a piece of Jimmy Buffett-adjacent vacation-baiting (“MIA Down in MIA”), so it was even a little crass, but Strait stood his ground and gave Detroit a serenade to remember.
“Ooh, what a crowd!” Strait said early in the show, following “The Fireman.” “I love Detroit. I’m thinking about moving up here maybe, I don’t know!” It’s a nice sentiment, but Strait is a Texas guy through and through, and on stage in his black hat, blue jeans and tucked in button up shirt, he looked like he was still in Texas. (Strait is so Texas that eight of the 11 members of his backing band also hail from the Lone Star state; give him credit for staying on brand.)
Strait, who hit the stage at just before 9 p.m. and was introduced to the stage as “MCA recording artist George Strait,” which gave him the feel of a rookie artist just getting his legs underneath him. He kicked things off with “Stars on the Water,” his cover of the Rodney Crowell song from his 2001 album “The Road Less Traveled,” and he then rolled through a list of crowd pleasers — “I Got a Car,” “Here for a Good Time,” “Check Yes or No,” “Run” — that were comfortable and familiar, and fit like a favorite coat.
He was joined by Stapleton for a trio of songs, and the pair went back and forth with each other before launching into “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame,” a Stapleton-penned song from Strait’s upcoming album. “I’ve been trying to get you to cover it for 15 years,” Stapleton told Strait, to which Strait replied, “the only reason I did is because you sang it with me.” “Fair enough!” Stapleton said. Earlier in the evening, the country Southern rocker blazed through his own 80-minute set, ripping through his hits “Nobody to Blame,” “Starting Over” and “Tennessee Whiskey” and showing off his electrifying blend of rock and roll, soul and blues.
Strait’s sound is more classically country, and he plays the troubadour role on songs like “I Can Still Make Cheyenne” and “Amarillo by Morning,” songs which invoke images of lonely cowboys, dusty highways and broken hearts. Strait hasn’t lost a step in his delivery and he sells these stories with conviction, the same way he still lands the punchline at the close of “All My Ex’s Live in Texas”: you know it’s coming, but you can’t wait until it gets there.
Strait’s production on the massive stadium stage included a couple of giant video screens on either side of the stage, and a couple of video screens behind him and his band. Nothing fancy, but then neither is Strait. He’s straight down the middle.
While working Haggard’s “Are the Good Times Really Over,” Strait did manage to get a dig in on Ford, in the stadium that bares the company’s name, no less. “I wish a Ford and a Chevy would still last ten years, like they should,” Strait sang, adding a bonus zing at the end, “… and maybe run on gasoline.” Strait isn’t trying to rock the boat, he just calls ’em like he sees ’em, and it’s gotten him this far, so there’s no sense stopping now.
agraham@detroitnews.com
Detroit, MI
Road worker dies from injuries after being hit by driver on I-75 in Detroit
(CBS DETROIT) – Michigan State Police say a road worker who was struck by a vehicle who was hit by a vehicle on I-75 in Detroit Wednesday afternoon has died from his injuries.
Police say the crash happened around 1:40 p.m. Wednesday on southbound I-75 near Springwells. A worker with a moving road crew was setting a road flare between construction vehicles in the right line when a Kai sedan, driven by a 71-year-old from Allen Park, entered the right lane and struck the man.
The 53-year-old road worker from Lincoln Park was taken to an area hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
“We want to remind drivers to move over when they see construction vehicles on the side or in the roadway working,” said MSP Lt. Mike Shaw. “The suspect that struck the worker stopped on scene after the crash. After the investigation is completed, an investigator’s report will be submitted to the prosecutor’s office.”
Detroit, MI
Preparations underway before annual Christmas tree lightning in downtown Detroit
(CBS DETROIT) – Downtown Detroit is about to get a lot brighter, just in time for the Christmas season.
“The countdown is officially on here at Campus Martius Park,” Laura Dean, director of Parks and Public Spaces at Downtown Detroit Partnership.
It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year for Detroit, especially with a tree standing 66 feet tall. It made its way to Motown via the City of Manton, Michigan.
“We found it in August, and we cut it down yesterday on private property, and it was donated to us to serve as our centerpiece this year,” Dean said.
The Norway Spruce sits high for all to see. Over the next two weeks, a process will begin, to get it all dressed up. It takes 10 people to make it happen.
“Twenty-five thousand LED lights that go on here, and sparkling bulbs that light up,” Dean said. “We start wrapping our trees at the end of August, and it takes until about tree lightning day for everything to finish.”
The city is getting ready, from Cadillac Square to the ice skating rink. But this year, the Downtown Detroit Partnership is adding a new attraction called Chalet 313 to the park.
“There will be a bar and light appetizers served there, you will basically be able to go into the structure, go upstairs, and then look into the tree,” Dean said.
An estimated 100,000 people will show up for the tree lighting.
CBS News Detroit learned that the tree has a few bald spots, so teams will climb in to fill the gaps before it’s time.
“These are cut from the bottom of a tree, and they just help fill in where maybe we aren’t looking the best,” Dean said.
The 21st tree lighting is on Nov. 22 in the heart of Downtown Detroit at Campus Martius Park.
Detroit, MI
Houston Texans Release First Injury Report vs. Detroit Lions
The Houston Texans are fresh off a tough loss against the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football. Leading up to the contest, New York was quite an abysmal football team, so the loss to drop the Texans’ record to 6-3 hurt that much more.
The Texans are without wide receivers Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs — who suffered a season-ending knee injury — so the result wasn’t exactly shocking. However, Collins is eligible to return from Injured Reserve, which would make a huge difference for Houston.
READ MORE: Texans Get Trade Grade With 49ers for Khalil Davis
Collins wasn’t listed on the Texans’ first injury report before their coming contest against the Detroit Lions, though that’s because he hasn’t been taken off of Injured Reserve quite yet. Here’s how the injury report played out for Houston on Wednesday:
Did not participate:
- DE Will Anderson Jr., ankle
- DE Derek Barnett, calf/shoulder
- DT Foley Fatusaki, groin/shoulder
- OG Kenyon Green, shoulder
- DE Dylan Horton, illness
- RB Dameon Pierce, groin
Limited particpant:
- LB Azees Al-Shaair, knee
- LB Jake Hanses, ankle
- DE Jerry Hughes, hip
- OG Shaq Mason, hip
- CB Jeff Okudah, ankle
- OT Laremy Tunsil, rest
- S Jimmy Ward, groin
The Texans’ injury report was quite hefty, and the defense could be quite banged up as they take on the Lions — who are a very rounded, solid squad with an electric offense.
Despite the game being at NRG Stadium in Houston, Detroit enters the matchup as a 3.5-point favorite. The Lions are 7-1 on the season and are regarded as one of the best teams in the league.
Houston needs both Collins to return and the rest of the injury report to be cleaned up if they want to take down such a strong NFC opponent.
READ MORE: Texans Debuting Awesome ‘Battle Red’ Uniforms Against Lions on Sunday Night Football
Stick with TexansGameday for more coverage of the Houston Texans throughout the season.
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