Schools

Macomb County Native Kid Rock Donates $2,500 to the Wyandotte Marching Band to Cover Costs of Halftime Performance

The Wayne County high school band incurred $2,400 in transportation costs getting to and from Ford Field.

Fresh off their Thanksgiving Day performance alongside Kid Rock during the Detroit Lions' halftime show, members of the Wyandotte Marching Chiefs were pretty excited to receive a letter from the rock star on Thursday.

But there was more than a congratulatory note inside.

There was a check for $2,500 from the Macomb County native.

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With the halftime show being a surprise development and with the school district not having its own fleet of buses, the band incurred $2,400 in transportation costs getting to and from rehearsals, leading up to the big day.

According to the letter from Kid Rock, he read about the band's financial hardship and wanted to help out.

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"I read the article in the Wyandotte Patch on the extra expenses you incurred getting back and forth to Ford Field to practice for the Thanksgiving Day half time show," the letter reads. "I hope this covers your expenses. Thank you....you guys did a fantastic job!!!!"

Mark D’Angelo, Roosevelt High School’s instrumental music director, said he was shocked to receive the letter and the check. 

"In the week's prior to our performance, I was sharing with the band students some of the amazing things that I had learned about how Kid Rock ... gives back to his community and to Detroit," D'Angelo said. "The students and I never thought that we would be included in that list until we received his letter today."

D'Angelo said he couldn't wait to share the good news with his students.

"As I read the letter to each of my classes, there was a lot of excitement and amazement that once again, Kid Rock was thinking about us," he said. "I hope we get an opportunity someday to have a longer conversation and we can show him just how much all of this has meant to every member of our band community. Kid Rock, you've got a lot of new fans in Wyandotte, MI!"

In addition to the Kid Rock check, D’Angelo said, the band received an additional $720 in donations from community members. That money will be used to help defray other marching band related expenses in the future, he said.


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