Brian McCollum

Detroit Free Press Pop Music Critic

Before the Red Wings hit the ice or the Pistons take the floor, the loud rumble of Kid Rock will give a workout to the walls of Little Caesars Arena.

The homegrown star will play four shows — Sept. 12, 13, 15 and 16 — to launch Detroit’s newest major venue, now under construction north of downtown. Tickets will go on sale Jan. 27.

That means “Bawitdaba,” “American Bad Ass” and other rowdy Rock hits will christen the building that’s set to house the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons while displacing the Palace of Auburn Hills as the region’s leading concert arena.

Rock jetted in from Nashville for a Thursday media event at the arena site, joined by officials from the Ilitch family's Olympia Entertainment. Five years after plans for the new arena got under way, Thursday marked a milestone moment: the first confirmation of the first event at Detroit’s signature new venue.

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"I hope it's a celebration of this city, the arena and the people who built it," Rock told gathered media. The Red Wings' Henrik Zetterberg and former Pistons star and current radio broadcaster Rick Mahorn were also on hand.

Thursday’s announcement followed months of speculation about Little Caesar Arena’s rollout plans. Olympia officials had long told the Free Press they were aiming for a big kickoff concert. But until recently, construction timetables made it difficult to commit to an opening date.

Rock is a long-proven hometown draw: In the past two decades, he’s played sold-out shows at every major arena and stadium in metro Detroit, most recently a 10-night stand at DTE Energy Music Theatre in 2015 for more than 150,000 fans. That set the Clarkston amphitheater’s all-time record for concerts by one artist in a single summer, breaking Rock’s own mark of eight in 2013.

With Kid Rock, the new arena has an inaugural act intrinsically tied to metro Detroit, going back to his days as a Romeo-bred teen who made his way down to the city to jostle for a place on the fledgling hip-hop scene. Since breaking big nationally in the late ‘90s, Rock has stuck his fingers into a host of musical pies, blending old-school rap with Southern rock, metal and country music while settling into a steady touring career.

A backer of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008 and Republican Mitt Romney four years later, Rock grabbed headlines in 2016 for his early, outspoken support of burgeoning candidate Donald Trump. After the November election, Rock rolled out a line of edgy pro-Trump merchandise that drew cheers from many Trump supporters while spurring pushback among opponents of the president-elect.

Rock said he is not playing any of this week's inauguration festivities, and that he was "not formally" asked.

Rock’s shows at Little Caesars Arena will come about a month before the Red Wings kick off their 2017-18 NHL season at the $635 million venue, to be followed by the Pistons’ NBA debut there later in October.

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The Pistons announced in November they’re heading to LCA after 29 years at the Palace. The move is part of a deal between the Red Wings’ Ilitch family and Pistons owner Tom Gores that will combine their respective entertainment organizations, leading to a 105,000-seat local concert empire that includes Little Caesars Arena, DTE Energy Music Theatre, Meadow Brook Amphitheatre, the Fox Theatre and Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill.

While there’s been no formal word on the fate of the Palace, it’s assumed the venue will close sometime after the Pistons’ move this fall. Right now, the latest show on the Palace books is a Sept. 8 concert featuring Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, announced four months ago.

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As the sleek new venue in town, Little Caesars Arena is destined to quickly become metro Detroit’s go-to concert arena. The arena’s early months are likely to be packed with shows as agents and promoters look to capitalize on local curiosity in the new building, based on precedent and word from concert-industry insiders.

Kid Rock is latest in the list of opening entertainers at big metro Detroit venues.

In August 1988, a busy opening week at the Palace featured shows by Sting, David Lee Roth, Pink Floyd and Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Dave Matthews Band launched Comerica Park’s concert career with a July 2000 show — well into the Tigers’ first season there — while the Rolling Stones performed Ford Field’s inaugural concert in October 2002.

At Joe Louis Arena, which is due to close when LCA opens this fall, Canadian band Rush played a pair of February 1980 shows to launch the venue’s long and storied music legacy.

Sports arenas have come a long way since the days of Joe Louis: As the touring industry has consolidated and grown, the big venues have become increasingly sophisticated when it comes to their music business. There’s more attention now on basics such as acoustics and load-in facilities, for instance, and splashy kickoff concerts have become par for the course.

Music openers at the most recently built NHL and NBA arenas:

Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, 2016: Paul McCartney

Rogers Place, Edmonton, 2016: Keith Urban

Barclays Center, New York, 2012: Jay Z

Amway Center, Orlando, 2010: Vicente Fernandez

PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, 2010: Paul McCartney

Prudential Center, Newark, 2007: Bon Jovi (10 nights)

Spectrum Center, Charlotte, 2005: The Rolling Stones

FedExForum, Memphis, 2004: Usher

MTS Centre, Winnipeg, 2004: Burton Cummings/Randy Bachman