Jack White and Eminem Deliver High-Impact Detroit Showcase at Thanksgiving Halftime
Detroit’s annual Thanksgiving Day Classic received an unmistakable local stamp this year as Jack White delivered a tightly executed, high-energy halftime performance that underscored both his own legacy and the city’s enduring musical identity. The 86th edition of the tradition, this year’s matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field, marked White’s return to a major hometown stage, turning the game’s midpoint into one of the most replayed moments of the NFL’s holiday lineup.
White opened the set with “That’s How I’m Feeling,” from his 2024 album No Name, offering a performance built around the unvarnished guitar work and kinetic stage presence that have defined his multi-decade career. But the show’s defining moment arrived minutes later with an appearance the stadium did not expect: Eminem, making a rare halftime cameo in his home city. The crowd reaction was immediate, with Ford Field erupting as the rapper joined White for a reworked, hard-edged version of “Till I Collapse”, one of his most enduring catalog highlights.
The collaboration, a fusion of White’s live, rock-driven arrangement and Eminem’s forceful delivery, elevated the halftime show into something far closer to a marquee concert than a standard NFL spectacle. For a stadium already charged with the intensity of a divisional matchup, the moment shifted the atmosphere decisively. Fans remained standing through much of the remainder of the set, many joining in as White’s band leaned into the song’s final refrain.
White closed the performance with the globally recognizable “Seven Nation Army,” the White Stripes anthem whose riff has become one of the most persistent sports chants of the past two decades. As the Detroit Lions Cheerleaders joined the finale on the field and tens of thousands of fans echoed the chant through the stadium, the final minutes of the show played less like a conventional halftime segment and more like a signature Detroit cultural moment, one that blurred the boundaries between sports, community identity, and the region’s musical history.
On the football side, the Lions went into halftime trailing the Packers 17–14 after a slow opening stretch, but the shift in crowd energy following the musical performance was noticeable. Last year’s Thanksgiving victory, Detroit’s first since 2016, had raised expectations, and fans responded to the halftime show with the same intensity they brought to the game itself.
This year’s production was executive-produced by Eminem and longtime manager Paul Rosenberg, part of a multi-year partnership with the Detroit Lions that extends through 2027. The agreement places the pair in charge of shaping the creative and logistical direction of the Thanksgiving halftime shows from artist curation and staging to thematic development, with a focus on spotlighting Detroit talent and elevating the game into a cultural event with broader visibility.
White’s appearance also arrives shortly after his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as one half of the White Stripes, a recognition that reinforced the duo’s significance in shaping early-2000s rock and alternative music. Although Meg White did not attend the ceremony, the acknowledgment of their body of work remained central to the narrative surrounding White’s return to the Detroit stage.
The halftime performance ultimately served as both a tribute and a statement, a reminder that Detroit continues to produce artists whose influence extends far beyond the region, and that the city’s musical legacy remains intertwined with its identity. For the Lions, for Ford Field, and for Detroit’s broader cultural community, the moment delivered a sense of pride and continuity that has defined the Thanksgiving Classic since its earliest days.
