Green Bay Packers-New Orleans Saints Game Opening With Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum Concert

Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum and Maroon 5 will help kick off the NFL season Thursday night at a pre-game concert.  The show will take place on a stage adjacent to Lambeau Field where the Green Bay Packers will host the New Orleans Saints.

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NBC scuttled plans to broadcast the concert during NBC's pre-game show Thursday in order to air President Barack Obama's jobs plan speech to a joint session of Congress. The pre-game show is now being expanded to 90 minutes and will be simulcast on USA, G4, SyFy, Versus and NFL Network starting at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. The concert will also be carried on the NFL Network.

Despite playing on the home field of the Super Bowl champion Packers, Kid Rock said earlier this week that his heart remains with his hometown Detroit Lions, who only won six of their 16 games last season. He told AP, "I think the Lions are going to win nine or 10 games. They really have turned it around. ... It's been a long time coming here in Detroit."

Rock added that Thursday's opener will be more than just an average game, "I've been to a playoff game in Lambeau Field, so I know their level of intensity."

In other football news, ESPN sealed a new deal with the NFL that will keep Monday Night Football at the cable sports channel through the 2021 season, the network announced Thursday. The eight-year pact gives ESPN 17 MNF games each season, the Pro Bowl, NFL draft (which ESPN has covered since 1980), 3D rights and continued Spanish-language rights.