Ledisi also delivers “Lift Every Voice and Sing” ahead of the Big Game Sunday in New Orleans
Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle, both Louisiana natives, delivered a rousing rendition of “America the Beautiful” prior to Super Bowl LIX Sunday in New Orleans. The performance rounded out a New Orleans-centered set of musical acts before the big game, highlighting the city’s vibrant sound. Before “America the Beautiful,” a full-on New Orleans-style party, replete with a marching band charting through local hits, took the field to set off the festivities.
The Super Bowl pregame performers were all culled from the Big Easy and its surrounding areas, with Jon Batiste singing the National Anthem and New Orleans’ Ledisi leading “Lift Every Voice and Sing” alongside a 125-member choir made up of high school singers from around the Greater New Orleans area.
“It would be hard for any type of company or event to come to New Orleans … and not use the flavor,” Trombone Shorty told Axios prior to the Super Bowl, the first in New Orleans since 2013.
“This is such a magical place, and the music is the heartbeat, so you have to have some type of flavor. The music is what keeps the city alive and the heartbeat going, so I think they’ve done a good job and I’m happy to be a part to represent the city,” he said.
Daigle said of her and Trombone Shorty’s rendition during a Super Bowl Week press conference, “I immediately tried to think … how does it feel the most human in my voice? How will it cut through to this generation, the age that we are living in right now, the political climate that we’re living in right now? How can I use this song to cut through to people who might be jaded toward our country or might not love what we have in this country or what we’ve built in this country?”
Recent Super Bowls have featured Post Malone, H.E.R., Jhene Aiko, and more performing “America the Beautiful.”
