Photo Credit: Morgan Petroski
The NFL has asked several local New Orleans artists to sing ahead of the big game. Ledisi will sing the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” while Lauren Daigle will perform “America the Beautiful” during the pre-game show.
Since 2020, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” affectionately known as the Black National Anthem has been performed ahead of the Super Bowl. A pre-recorded version of Alicia Keys singing the song played ahead of the 2021 Super Bowl. Mary Mary performed the song outside of SoFi Stadium in 2022 and Andra Day performed the song ahead of the 2024 Super Bowl.
This year, the NFL is tapping local New Orleans artists for its pre-game show. Grammy Award-winning artist Ledisi will perform the song ahead of Super Bowl LIX. The song was originally written in 1899 by James Weldon—an author, educator, lawyer, and civil rights activist. Weldon says he wrote the poem as a celebration of President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. His brother John Rosamond Johnson composed the music for the hymn. Otis Jones IV will perform the American Sign Language (ASL) version of the hymn.
New Orleans native Jon Batiste will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner”, while Louisiana native Lauren Daigle will perform “America the Beautiful” alongside Trombone Shorty during the pre-game show.
“I’m excited. It’s going to be a beautiful opportunity for us to showcase what New Orleans represents, and the culture, and the beauty of unity in music,” Daigle told NOLA.com about the upcoming performance. “New Orleans has seen some trying times recently. To be able to offer a sound of hope for people int his city, to sing out over the city and from the city into the rest of the world is going to be one of my favorite things, maybe ever.”
The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles on February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The pre-game performances kick-off at 6:30 pm ET and will be available to watch on Fox or stream on Fubo and Tubi.