While the New Orleans Saints got absolutely crushed last night, losing 45-24 to the Atlanta Falcons, at least fans got a pretty epic halftime show out of it— if that’s any consolation.
New Orleans staple Trombone Shorty, joined by his band Orleans Avenue, headlined the performance as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the Saints’ return to the Caesars Superdome in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina, also known as their “Domecoming.” And they went all out for the occasion, with country music icon Eric Church joining Trombone Shorty alongside special guests Kirk Franklin, Juvenile, Cyril and Ivan Neville, and the local Edna Karr High School Marching Band.
If that sounds like quite the conglomeration of wildly different voices all sharing the same stage, you’d be correct. But then again, Church fit right in considering he’s been known to weave a little soul and jazz into his live shows, even enlisting the help of his own backing choir.
The performance kicked off with an upbeat choir performance from Trombone Shorty and Kirk Franklin turning up the heat, with the marching band joining in, followed by a performance of “Fire on the Bayou.” Afterward, Rapper Juvenile popped in with his 2003 hit, “Slow Motion.”
Interestingly enough, Church took over right after at around the four-minute mark, slowing things down with nothing but his guitar. Despite the fact that he had to tumble through some sound issues in the first three seconds, once they got his mic properly working, he delivered a fitting cover of the NOLA staple, “Born on the Bayou.”
The choir then piped in, transitioning into “The Saints Are Coming,” and Lord knows if I were on the team listening from the sidelines, this portion would’ve had me hype as hell for an epic comeback from their 24-7 halftime deficit. Unfortunately, that comeback never came, but nonetheless, Church still made for a great finale to his brief portion of the halftime show.
Now all we need is hope that the North Carolina native can keep his NFL involvement rolling and convince somebody to put on an all-star country music halftime show. With rumors swirling that Miley Cyrus could take the Super Bowl LXI halftime stage next year, I don’t think that dream will come soon anytime soon, but once Nashville’s new Nissan Stadium is up and running, I’ve got my fingers crossed that it’ll finally come into fruition.