The Big Easy is ready to show out.
Louisiana natives Lauren Daigle and Trombone Shorty belted out “America the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.
The Kansas City Chiefs will face-off against the Philadelphia Eagles once again at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Louisiana artist Jon Batiste sang the National Anthem while Ledisi performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Kendrick Lamar, meanwhile, is set to take the stage during the highly-anticipated halftime show.
“We’re honored to work with this year’s pregame lineup to celebrate the rich musical legacy of New Orleans and the entire state,” Seth Dudowsky, head of music at the NFL, said in statement.
“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 kick off Super Bowl LIX with a celebration to remember.”
Daigle’s performance in NOLA comes years after New Orleans Mayor, LaToya Cantrell, called for her to be removed as a performer when the city hosted “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Celebration.”
Earlier this month, the Grammy winner appeared on the “Arroyo Grande” podcast and explained why she feels vindicated as she prepares to perform on one of the biggest stages yet.
“To get this moment years later, I would say for anybody watching that has had their reputations smeared in any sort of way and they are just waiting for the moment of vindication, sometimes it only takes five years,” Daigle said.
In 2020, Cantrell publicly chastised Daigle after the singer gave an impromptu concert at an outdoor prayer service, hosted by Christian worship leader Sean Feucht.
The event was part of Feucht’s “Let Us Worship” tour, which was also a protest against COVID-19 restrictions on churches. Hundreds of people attended and many went mask-less in defiance of local public health orders at the time.
Cantrell wrote a harsh letter to the producers of “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve” and demanded that the Lafayette, Louisiana, native be fired from performing.
But, Daigle shared in a statement that it was an unplanned concert. The artist explained she was riding her bike when she decided to stop by Feucht’s event because the two were longtime friends. Her performance was not planned in advance and Feucht asked her to sing on the spot.
Daigle noted she was “definitely not invited” to the telecast and told Arroyo how she felt about the mayor’s note.
“I think from that letter, too, she quoted, ‘She’s a weapon to society,’” Daigle recalled. “And I went home to Lafayette, and I got in my parents’ bed and I pulled the covers over my head as an adult. I was like, ‘Gosh, here we are again.’ Because now there’s no amount of public ridicule that is fun.”
Daigle now has a different perspective about the years-old controversy. As she put it, she learned “that when people need an element of hope, coming together is one of the most beautiful things.”
“It is one of the most incredible rights that we have in this country. It is. And I think to take that away from people is so disheartening, especially in a time like that.”
Daigle told Arroyo that when Trombone Shorty called her to ask if she would perform “America the Beautiful” with him she was in disbelief.
“I picked up the phone, and there was a little bit of, ‘Is this real? Is this actually going to happen? Is it real?’ I want to know that it’s real,” she confessed. “And then it became a ‘Yeah, it was real.’ It was a real call. And I was tickled.”
