Kid Rock Debuts Apache Helicopter Concert Intro With Pete Hegseth On Opening Night Of ‘Freedom 250 Tour’

Well, we finally know why Kid Rock was flying around in an U.S. Apache helicopter recently.

Last night, Kid Rock kicked off his Freedom 250 Tour in Dallas, Texas at the Dos Equis Pavilion. Before he took the stage, an intro video played that showed he and Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, riding around in military helicopters. So now the reports of Bob Ritchie (A.K.A. Kid Rock) taking a private jet to Fort Belvoir earlier this week make sense.

The country artist started trending after reports said that he was flying around the Washington D.C. area in an Apache helicopter. TMZ later confirmed that Kid Rock was flying around in the military helicopter, and that there were actually two choppers in the air.

According to their sources, Kid Rock sat in the gunner’s seat of the aircraft, and the ride was a part of the celebration of America’s 250th birthday. Cameras were apparently rolling for Memorial Day, the July 4th event, and Kid Rock’s Freedom 250 tour. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, was reportedly in the other Apache helicopter and was sitting shotgun as well.

Pete Hegseth took to X later that day to confirm that he and Kid Rock went for rides with the U.S. Army:

“Joined my friend Kid Rock – and some of our U.S. Army Apache pilots – for a ride this morning. (More to come on that!) Kid Rock is a patriot and huge supporter of our troops. The War Department is wasting no time celebrating America’s 250th – home of the free because of the brave.”

That ride came just a month or so after some Apache helicopters flew by Kid Rock’s Nashville home. That landed he and the pilot crew in some hot water for a bit, before Hegseth swooped in and cleared everything up.

And last night, fans got to see why Kid Rock and Pete Hegseth have been spending time together up in the air. Before the “All Summer Long” singer came out on stage, a pre-concert video played, showing Pete Hegseth helping Kid Rock get to his concert. In the video, the country star’s private jet lands, and Hegseth is waiting at the bottom of the plane’s stairs when Kid Rock exits.

Kid Rock asks what Hegseth is doing there, and the Secretary of War tells him that he’s going to his show tonight. The “Bawitdaba” singer offers to give Hegseth a lift, to which the secretary responds with this, while pointing at some nearby Apache helicopters:

“Well I appreciate that, but how about I give you a ride?”

That’s one, surefire way to get a crowd of Kid Rock fans fired up.

He’s previously said that he’d be “coming to each show in an Apache helicopter,” and this is apparently what he meant by that. So if you are planning on attending one of the many Freedom 250 Tour stops, you might want to get there early so you can catch the Apache helicopter concert intro.