Kid Rock performs on Stage at NFL Kickoff Event

NEW ORLEANS, LA - Recent Super Bowl champions - the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers - were on hand for the kickoff to the 2011 NFL season.  Maroon 5 moved through a three-song set to clear the way for the night's entertainment - Kid Rock.
Armed with the night’s longest set of an hour, Rock sand some of his biggest hits – “American Bad Ass,” “Cowboy” and “All Summer Long." He also did some covers of other well known songs, including "Good Old Boys."
"Saints vs. Packers: Was Kid Rock Really the Best Act the NFL Could Find?" asked Bleacher Report, Meanwhile, others thought Kid Rock, now 40, did a great job at entertaining football fans. He also had some words about the Detroit Lions and how they might do this season.I think the Lions are going to win nine or 10 games," Kid Rock said by phone this week.
"They really have turned it around. ... It's been a long time coming here in Detroit." according to a story by the Houston Chronicle.
While not everyone appreciates his music, Kid Rock is serious about helping the fans. From slashing prices on t-shirts at his concert to going out of his way to help others, Kid Rock is not as tough as some might make him out to be.
Earlier in the year at shows in Saginaw and Grand Rapids, Kid's Badass Beer sold at a reduced price according to MLIVE.com.
“As part of our deal (at those shows), I cut the price on it, so it made the other beer companies cut their price, so whether we were make money or not, it didn't matter."

Kid Rock Is Officially A Badass Now (Pun Kinda Intended)

When I was a freshman in high school, Bawitdaba was one of the biggest songs at the end of the year. Seriously, everyone had that damn song playing on their Discman (going old school here folks). So, naturally, I listened to Kid Rock to understand what the big deal was. Regardless of how I feel about his music (I think he needs to get back to rockin' and quit all the countryin'), Kid Rock has come out with some ideas regarding the concert experience in general that I think we can all agree with, including nixing ticket convenience fees and slashing merch prices! Check it all out after the jump.
So, the first thing that Kid Rock is pissed about is ticket convenience fees: "People think Live Nation is the devil, and I did too. Next year, or when I tour after the next album, those convenience fees are gone...I want one low ticket price."

The next thing Kid Rock wanted to address is the ridiculously high prices that are charged for t-shirts. Apparently, he wanted to slash the prices in half but was met with fierce resistance, which is understandable since it's obvious that people will pay high prices for concert merch. They've been doing it for years. However, Kid Rock laid down the law saying, "Do it or you're fired. I want some banners that say (bleep) the economy, cut the T-shirts half price and let's see if we can sell twice the volume, and we have been." Personally, I'd be much more inclined to buy a t-shirt if it cost $15 or $20 instead of $40 freaking dollars!!!

The last thing that Kid Rock addressed, and what is probably most applicable and meaningful for me, is the cost of beer. Kid Rock made a deal at two shows this year where his beer, Badass Lager, was sold at a reduced price. This forced the competition to reduce their prices as well for fear that they wouldn't sell a drop.

Kid Rock: "As part of our deal (at those shows), I cut the price on it, so it made the other beer companies cut their price, so whether we were make money or not, it didn't matter. But fans had a great experience of getting cheaper beer than they're used to paying at concerts. I love undercutting Budweiser.... and it's still over-priced."

Alright readers, what do you think of Kid Rock now? Personally, any artist that fights for the fans at this level gets a huge bump of respect in my book. If a concert ended costing me half of what it does now, I'd be seeing shows far more often.

CMA Music Festival TV special airing tonight

The three-hour, primetime concert special “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock” will air at 7 tonight on the ABC Television Network.

The concert lineup includes individual performances from Oklahoma-connected acts Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire and Rascal Flatts, along with Trace Adkins, The Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, Sara Evans, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Darius Rucker, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, and Keith Urban.
The special also features one-of-a-kind collaborations including Alabama performing with Brad Paisley; Jason Aldean collaborating with Kelly Clarkson; a late-night jam with Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow; Josh Turner singing with “American Idol” winner Scotty McCreery; “Idol” runner up Lauren Alaina joining Martina McBride; Gretchen Wilson partying with Big & Rich; and Alan Jackson performing with Zac Brown Band.
Behind-the-ropes access is part of the special including interviews with The Band Perry, Aldean and Clarkson, Lady Antebellum, Swift, and Shania Twain; a late-night jam at a downtown club with Luke Bryan; and a day in the life of McCreery and Alaina as they experience their first CMA Music Festival. Several artists step up to introduce their peers including Bentley, McBride, Rascal Flatts, John Rich, Rucker, Shelton, and Twain.
The annual event, which originally started as Fan Fair in 1972, runs four days and includes 30 hours of autograph signings, 100 hours of live music, hundreds of artists and celebrities, and a party list of thousands of avid, singing and dancing-’til-dawn fans. This is the seventh time ABC will broadcast this special, which invites the country to America’s biggest country music bash.
-BAM