Early on during his All-American Road Show stop Saturday night, Aug. 8, at Detroit’s Ford Field, Chris Stapleton promised fans that “we’re gonna plays as much music as we can, not do a lot of talking.”

And yet the package — which also included fellow country hitmaker Lainey Wilson and Washington State soul man Allen Stone — gave the crowd of 38,000 plenty to, in fact, talk about.

It was a potent bill from start to finish, a celebration of Americana and of pure music-making throughout. There were no pyrotechnics or special effects; Stapleton, who opened for George Strait two summers ago at Ford Field, remained the anti-stadium hero, barely moving and yet filling the space with the enormous charisma of his songs, guitar playing and a voice that’s become more expressive each time he’s rolled through town.

Each of the artists were backed by powerhouse bands, delivering set that made it easy for fans to fulfill the “job” Stapleton assigned them, “to have as much fun as you can in one night.”

They surely did, and these are the moments we’ll be talking about from this version of the Road Show:

Killer Collabs

Stapleton played nice with his opening acts on Saturday, first bringing Stone on stage for Al Green’s “I’m a Ram,” then later welcoming Wilson for a rowdy romp through the Georgia Satellite’s “Keep Your Hands to Yourself.”

And Killer Covers

Besides the two duets, Stapleton’s 21-song, two-hour set also played “Millionaire,” a hit he wrote for Kevin Welch, and his No. 1 country rendition of David Allan Coe’s “Tennessee Whiskey” that closed Stapleton’s main set. Earlier in the evening, meanwhile, Stone gave James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” a muscular soul delivery.

A Homeboy Honor

Before Stapleton performed “Fire Away,” his legendary pedal steel player Paul Franklin, a Detroit native, was presented with a plaque from the Potterville-based Michigan Country Music Hall of Fame. (The formal induction ceremony takes place Aug. 15 in Charlotte). Franklin has also been inducted into the prestigious Musicians Hall of Fame and the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and has won 18 Academy of Country Music Awards.

Franklin wasn’t the only Michigander on stage Saturday; Traverse City multi-instrumentalist Sav Madigan of the band the Accidentals was Wilson’s primary onstage foil, spotlighted particularly with her violin introduction to “Somewhere Over Laredo.”

All-Star Lineup

And Franklin was not the only notable player in Stapleton’s seven-member band, the Honchos. The headliner was flanked by his wife, vocalist Morgane Hayes, along with Mickey Raphael, longtime harmonica player for Willie Nelson, and producer Dave Cobb on guitar; the latter is a 13-time Grammy Award winner, four of which came for his work with Stapleton.

Lainey’s Pit Trip

During her triple-platinum “Watermelon Moonshine,” Wilson climbed down a ladder into the pit in front of the stage, pressing the flesh, taking selfies, autographing cowboy hats and letting a young fan sing part of the chorus for nearly the duration of the song.

Throwing It Back

For the first of his two solo acoustic songs, Stapleton offered “What Are You Listening To?,” his 2013 debut single. He noted that it “went all the way to No. 46” on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, but it was certified platinum nevertheless and had fans singing along to every word on Saturday.

By Request

Stapleton honored a fan’s request for the three-hanky “Maggie’s Song,” about his late dog, with a solo acoustic rendition, noting that “we’ve got some people who like to be sad in the audience here. Y’all want to be sad? That’s what we’re gonna do.” He followed by honoring another fan appeal — for Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” though he only played the song’s opening verse. “That’s all you get, free bird,” he told that fan. He followed with his own guitar epic, an extended delivery of the bluesy “I Was Wrong” that also featured an organ solo by Lee Pardini.

Powering Through

The PA system failed as Stapleton was singing the individual introductions for the Honchos, and it took a minute for him to realize it was off. It was only a brief interruption, however, and when things kicked back into working order he led cheers for the crew’s speedy efforts.

Thursday was the 61st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, and on Saturday, a nationwide organization made sure to honor that anniversary by increasing voter engagement, turnout, and education. 

“We train people to advocate for the things that are important to them,” said Genevieve VanCleve, the regional organizer for the League of Women Voters.

Dozens of women of all ages and backgrounds from Metro Detroit gathered all day Saturday to talk about the things that matter, much like thousands of other women across the Country, in the League of Women Voters’ Unite and Rise for Voting Rights event.

Celina Stewart, the CEO of the League of Women Voters United States, told CBS Detroit,  “And so across the country, more than 400 activations where people are doing poetry slams like we’re doing here, book clubs, protests, writing letters to their governors and their elected officials. So, all over the country people are really engaging, and we’re trying to bring democracy to people in their hands.”

While similar events took place around America Saturday, Detroit was chosen as one of the five hallmark locations because of the city’s history of Black civic leadership.

“Our focus is to get people to vote and to get them to understand how voting impacts their lives,” said Betty Burdette, the chair of voter services for the League of Women Voters.

The women convened in a circle and took part in a bunch of activities,  including writing poetry and telling their neighbors the issues that matter most to them. 

Deborah Bunkley, communications director for the League of Women Voters, said, “Really wonderful to hear these young people speak up the way they’re speaking up. They know exactly what they want; now we just have to get them to vote for what they want.”

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization, but they say they are now hoping this grassroots organizing and community outreach can help engage voters and strengthen democracy ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The Detroit Lions are two weeks into training camp, and the early returns have challenged some preseason assumptions. From a surprisingly deep cornerback room to a defensive line built on versatility, Detroit’s 2026 roster is starting to take shape in ways that weren’t entirely expected. Here are the five biggest takeaways from Lions camp so far.

The cornerback room is a lot deeper than expected

Going into training camp, there were real concerns about the Lions’ cornerback depth after losing Terrion Arnold. The thought was that Detroit would be foolish to sit on its hands and roll into the season with Rock Ya-Sin, questions surrounding Ennis Rakestraw, and uncertainty about whether Nick Whiteside’s strong showing against Tampa Bay was a fluke.

Two weeks later, the outlook has completely changed. Ya-Sin looks like a legitimate starter. Is he an All-Pro? No. Is he a Pro Bowler? No. But he can play, and he’s good. Rakestraw has been getting first-team reps with sticky coverage and has looked healthy, which was always the bigger question with him. Knock on wood, but he appears to be in the best shape of his career.

The biggest revelation has been Whiteside. He’s been a playmaker every single day. The conversation around him has gone from “I don’t know if he’ll make the 53-man roster” to “this guy might be a starter.” It’s still an outside shot, and nobody is handing him the job, but the fact that it’s even a conversation says a lot about how he’s performed.

With all that said, the Lions could still use one more veteran cornerback in a rotational depth role. Lions coach Dan Campbell mentioned Khalil Dorsey the other day, and Dorsey is a strong special teamer, but there hasn’t been enough defensive tape on him to feel confident there. As for trading for a corner, that possibility should probably wait until the trade deadline. Teams aren’t giving away good corners right now, and Detroit’s group looks solid enough to buy time.

The defensive line’s versatility is the answer

The edge rushers were never the concern. Derrick Moore, Aidan Hutchinson, Ahmed Hassanien, and D.J. Wonnum form a strong group. The worry was interior defensive line depth, specifically at nose tackle.

Turns out, the Lions just plan to use versatility to solve the problem. Tyler Lacy will play nose tackle and kick outside to the edge. Hassanien will kick inside and outside. Levi Onwuzurike looks good and healthy and will move around. Skyler Gil-Howard projects as a pass-rush specialist, and Tyleik Williams is the nose tackle.

The answer to “what are they going to do without another nose tackle?” is simple: they’re going to have guys do more than one thing. It doesn’t have to be one player locked into one position as the sole backup. Four different guys can play that spot depending on the look the defense wants. Want Lacy against a particular run-heavy offensive line? Kick him inside. Want Hassanine setting the edge against a specific tackle? Put him there.

Credit to Pride of Detroit’s Jeremy Reisman and Eric Schlitt for turning that idea on early. Seeing it in action at camp has been the lightbulb moment.

Nickel defense won’t be as dramatic a shift as expected

Under the Aaron Glenn era, the Lions ran nickel at one of the lowest rates in the NFL. Last season’s percentage sat around 35%. The expectation was Detroit would jump from 35% all the way up to 75% and join the rest of the league. That’s probably not happening.

Right now, it looks more like a move from 35% to 50%. It’s still early, and the coaching staff is still installing the new scheme, so the number could climb as camp progresses. The Lions will still play a lot of man coverage and spend significant time in their base defense. But nickel will be a bigger part of the equation than it has been, and that’s where players like Christian Izien and Roger McCreary will prove their value.

Multi-tight end sets are happening in a big way

Some people tried to temper expectations by pointing out that the Lions’ new offensive scheme only ran 12 and 13 personnel around 30-some percent of the time in Arizona. That may be true, but the Lions are clearly buying into it. Multi-tight end sets have shown up frequently at camp, and with Tyler Conklin back on the field, it’s only going to increase.

Brock Wright, Conklin, and Jackson Meeks (assuming he makes the roster) will all factor into these packages. The Lions are going to run a lot of two and three tight end sets with plenty of different wrinkles. If you thought Detroit would shy away from this, think again. They’re all in.

Every day at camp, Jared Goff has loaded up and thrown at least one or two deep passes. The Lions have wanted to add this to their offensive repertoire for a long time. Part of the issue was that Ben Johnson simply didn’t call deep shots. When John Morton took over, the offensive line couldn’t hold up long enough to let those plays develop.

Detroit appears to be in a better spot now, and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and passing game coordinator Mike Kafka looks like the right addition to unlock that part of the offense. The Lions aren’t forcing the deep ball, but they’re definitely making an effort to incorporate it.

The Lions’ first preseason game is about two weeks away. Expect the team to be vanilla, but some of these elements should show up. There’s still a lot of camp left, and more will come into focus as the weeks go on. For now, these are the big takeaways from the first two weeks in Allen Park.

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