Kid Rock flies to Charlevoix the week his Apache promo ties tour to Pentagon

Kid Rock flew from Atlanta to Charlevoix, Michigan, on June 7 in his Bombardier Challenger 600, a 12-minute hop that landed him near his northern Michigan property. The flight comes the same week that a video surfaced, per a Billboard report on June 4, showing Rock's Apache helicopter ride with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was a promotional bit for his Freedom 250 Tour. The scripted clip, filmed at Fort Belvoir in April, shows Rock's jet—its tail painted with a middle finger—met by Hegseth, who then offers the singer a ride in an Army gunship before Rock's Dallas tour opener.

Rock's use of military hardware for a commercial, costing taxpayers an estimated $7,000 per flight hour per an Army official cited by NPR, has drawn criticism from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and questions about whether the flights violated Army passenger codes. The Pentagon has defended the flights as a “community relations event” tied to the White House's Freedom 250 initiative, though the Apache is a combat aircraft not configured for civilian passengers.

Rock's recent flight history shows a pattern of short hops from Atlanta-area airports, and his home base remains Oakland County International near Detroit. Charlevoix is a recurring destination for Rock, who keeps a residence in the area and appears to be using his private jet to travel between tour stops and personal retreats while the controversy over the helicopter stunt continues to unfold.