Kid Rock clearly isn’t into all the fawning that goes on with celebrity. Striding into the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts a few months ago, he bypassed the handlers who were set to cater to the performers at the Point of Light Celebration that honored former President George H.W. Bush. Instead, Rock posed for a few photos, briefly chatted with fans, and was on his way. That type of down-home attitude is one that translates to his music and has resonated with rock fans in his hometown of Detroit, country fans in Nashville, Tenn., (where Kid Rock owns a condo) and to music fans seemingly everywhere else.

“People in north Michigan are not different at all from people in southern Alabama,” Kid Rock told Time Out Chicago. “Trust me, someone who’s spent a lot of time in both places. They’re all hardworking, simple people.”