By Lydia Jane Allison
NEW ORLEANS – Feb. 6, 2025 – The NFL will honor the city of New Orleans in a special Super Bowl LIX pregame ceremony. In light of recent tragedies, the NFL will use its biggest platform to commemorate the unwavering resilience of the New Orleans community during the pregame ceremony, which will take place at Caesars Superdome on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 and air live on FOX.
The pregame ceremony will bring the unmistakable sounds of New Orleans to the world, featuring a musical ensemble led by Music Director Derek Dixie and The Freedom Frequency Orchestra, renowned for their work on Beyoncé’s Homecoming. A powerhouse lineup of talent will take the stage, including The Southern University Marching Band (The Human Jukebox), legendary jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard, the Soul Rebels, The Original Pinettes (New Orleans’ only all-female brass band), and the Spirit of New Orleans Gospel Choir. The performance will also feature a special appearance by Harry Connick Jr., joined by Leroy Jones on trumpet and Freddie Lonzo on trombone, weaving together the city’s deep-rooted musical traditions in a powerful tribute to the host city.
Queen Tahj and various Masked Indians will also be prominently featured, bringing the vibrancy of New Orleans’ indigenous and Black cultural traditions to the national stage with intricate beadwork designs. The New Orleans local artist made history as the first ever to handcraft both the Super Bowl logo and theme art.
The pregame lineup will also spotlight Louisiana’s own Jon Batiste performing the National Anthem, while Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle deliver a special rendition of “America the Beautiful.”
New Orleans native Ledisi will perform a powerful solo, accompanied by a 125-member choir of high school vocalists from across the Greater New Orleans area. The choir unites students from KIPP New Orleans Schools (John F. Kennedy and Frederick A. Douglass), InspireNOLA Schools (Eleanor McMain, Edna Karr, and McDonogh 35), Collegiate Academies (G.W. Carver and Livingston), L.B. Landry High School, Warren Easton High School, New Orleans Charter Science and Mathematics High School, L.W. Higgins High School, and St. Mary’s Academy.
Deaf and hard of hearing people can watch a stream of the pregame performance with ASL interpretation here and the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show here.
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