Super Bowl LIX pre-game show to feature New Orleans, Louisiana singers and musicians (2024)

The NFL announced on Thanksgiving that the Super Bowl LIX pre-game telecast will spotlight singers and musicians from New Orleans and Louisiana.

Jon Batiste, who grew up in Kenner and attended St. Augustine High School and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, will sing the national anthem in the Caesars Superdome ahead of kickoff on Feb. 9.

Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, who grew up in Treme, will team up with contemporary Christian singer and Lafayette native Lauren Daigle to perform "America the Beautiful." They have previously made guest appearances with one another onstage and on recordings.

And contemporary R&B singer Ledisi, who was born and raised in New Orleans before moving to California, will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

“We’re honored to work with this year’s pregame lineup to celebrate the rich musical legacy of New Orleans and the entire state,” said Seth Dudowsky, head of music at the NFL, in a news release. "The Super Bowl is a rare moment to unite fans around the world, and this year’s performers will bring the energy, soul and vibrant sounds of the region to a global stage, as we kickoff Super Bowl LIX with a celebration to remember.”

The September announcement that Kendrick Lamar would be the Super Bowl LIX halftime performer disappointed some observers who hoped an artist with ties to the host city would have featured in the high-profile showcase. New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne has publicly expressed his disappointment at not getting the gig.

Decades ago, before the Super Bowl halftime show had evolved into its own event within an event, artists from the host city often performed. Clarinetist Pete Fountain, trumpeter Al Hirt, singer Irma Thomas and the Southern University marching all appeared during halftimes of long-ago Super Bowls in New Orleans.

Instead of halftime, the NFL went all-in with Louisiana-born artists for the pre-game part of the Fox telecast. They cherry-picked high-profile locals with the vocal chops, poise and professionalism needed for the tricky songs that lead into the big game.

Growing up, Batiste was exposed to many types of music, from New Orleans jazz to funk to R&B to classical. While in high school, he was a member of NOCCA classmate Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews’ band. He later moved to New York to study at The Juilliard School.

In New York, he landed a gig as the original bandleader for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” He eventually left the show to focus on his own burgeoning career in popular music. His career highlights so far include his “We Are” winning Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, a sold-out tour and ecstatic, crowd-pleasing sets at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

On Nov. 15, Batiste released "Beethoven Blues," a solo piano collection of Batiste’s reinterpretations of some of the classical composer’s best-known works.

One of Batiste's first professional gigs, back when he and Andrews were high school classmates at NOCCA, was as a member of Andrews' band. Andrews is from New Orleans, but is not fully defined or bound by it. He has released a succession of funk-rock albums with his band Orleans Avenue, toured all over the globe and collaborated with a litany of marquee acts from multiple genres, from U2 to Prince to Eric Church. He and Ledisi were surprise guests when Church headlined the Smoothie King Center in 2022.

Fellow Louisianan Lauren Daigle sang on the song "What It Takes" from Andrews' 2022 album "Lifted."

The success of Daigle's 2018 album “Look Up Child” and its powerhouse ballad “You Say” anointed her contemporary Christian music’s biggest star — the so-called “Christian Adele” — and introduced her to a mainstream pop audience. She was soon headlining arenas.

In yet another connection between the Super Bowl pre-game performers, Batiste contributed melodica to "Saint Ferdinand," a song on Daigle's self-titled 2023 album.