Def Leppard Rocks Out at Daimler Truck Event
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — British rockers Def Leppard performed a surprise show for trucking industry leaders and their guests at the 2024 Daimler Truck Customer Appreciation Event.
The icons of ’80s rock played an hour-and-a-half set for the invitation-only audience of more than 1,000 at Nashville Municipal Auditorium.
Daimler Truck, the manufacturer of Freightliner and Western Star trucks and Detroit engines, hosted the private concert Oct. 14 in conjunction with American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition.
Def Leppard, formed in Sheffield, England, in 1976, played numerous hits from their landmark Pyromania and Hysteria albums along with a mix of their earlier material and more recent catalogue.
Show-Stoppers
Daimler Truck Customer Appreciation Event concerts through the years have included:
1976: Jazz musicians Oscar Peterson and Charlie Byrd
1979: Johnny Cash
1995: Elton John
1999: Celine Dion
2014: Eagles
2015: Paul McCartney
2016: Rolling Stones
2017: Jason Aldean
2018: Carrie Underwood w/ Florida Georgia Line
2019: Luke Bryan w/ Maddie & Tae
2021: Bon Jovi
2022: Billy Joel
2023: Chris Stapleton w/ Sting
The setlist included arena rock anthems such as “Foolin’,” “Love Bites,” “Rock of Ages,” “Photograph,” “Armageddon It,” and an encore performance of “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”
The identity of the evening’s entertainment was a closely guarded secret until Daimler Truck North America CEO John O’Leary introduced the band alongside David Carson, DTNA’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, and the company’s retiring global chief, Martin Daum, who recently stepped down from his role as Daimler Truck’s CEO.
Immediately prior to the event, DTNA unveiled the fifth generation of its flagship Freightliner Cascadia model in the MCE exhibit hall at Music City Center.
The truck maker also reflected on nearly a half century of its annual customer appreciation events, which trace their origin to 1976. Freightliner Corp., at the time a subsidiary of Consolidated Freightways, invited attendees at that year’s ATA conference to a concert by jazz musicians Oscar Peterson and Charlie Byrd in Washington, D.C.
In the years and decades since, the annual event has hosted concerts by legends of rock, pop, country and jazz music, ranging from Johnny Cash in 1979 to Elton John in 1995 and Celine Dion in 1999.
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