They should let them do the Super Bowl halftime show next.
I’ll be honest, I’m not in the best mood today as a New Orleans Saints fan. Last night was one of the most-hyped Saints games in quite a while: 20 years since the team made its emotional return to the Superdome after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina, a game that helped heal the city and featured the greatest play in Saints history with Steve Gleason’s blocked punt and a win over our most hated rival, the Atlanta Falcons.
The Domecoming game featured Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees and Gleason on hand, a second line parade through the city, and festivities honoring the emotional anniversary – all leading up to a matchup with the Falcons on Monday Night Football. It was all set up to be a great night for the city and the team. And the Saints just absolutely blew it.
The Falcons came out and scored on the third play of the game, and never really looked back. Their running backs combined for five touchdowns, the Saints offensive line was dominated by their defensive line which kept Saints QB Tyler Shough on his heels all night long, and the result was an embarrassing 45-24 loss to end a day that was filled with so much excitement.
It’s tough being a Saints fan sometimes.
In fact the best part of the game was the halftime show, which featured New Orleans native Trombone Shorty and his band Orleans Avenue, along with special appearances by Kirk Franklin, Juvenile, Ivan Neville, and the Edna Karr High School marching band.
Oh, and Eric Church was there too.
Chief was on hand for the halftime show, joining Trombone Shorty midway through the show to deliver a rockin’ performance of “Born On the Bayou” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. And they absolutely crushed it.
Of course, at first glance Church might have seemed out of place on the lineup, which was largely made up of artists from New Orleans. And many people took to social media to question why the Chief was included in the halftime show, despite not being from the city on a night that was celebrating the rebirth of New Orleans:
The reason, though, is that Church and Trombone Shorty actually go way back and have performed together frequently in the past.
Back in 2022, Church performed at the Smoothie King Center (home of the New Orleans Pelicans) on his Gather Again Tour, and invited Shorty to make a surprise appearance during show where the two (along with R&B/jazz singer Ledisi) absolutely burned it down on funky covers of “Ophelia” and “Proud Mary,” as well as Church’s own song “Cold One.”
It’s still one of my favorite videos and well worth the watch:
Not long after that, Shorty returned the favor, inviting Church to perform with him during his annual “Treme Threauxdown” that he hosts every year in New Orleans during Jazz Fest – performance that Church says inspired him to make his most recent album Evangeline vs. The Machine:
“Trombone Shorty came and played a show with me in New Orleans on the Gather Again tour, and we ended up in the dressing room after and got in this incredible conversation about brass instruments and string instruments and the history of music.
Later he invited me to come play this show he does during Jazz Fest. There were probably two white people onstage that night: Me and Steve Miller.
So we do my song “Cold One” and “Come Together.” I’ve done “Cold One” a thousand times, but I had never done “Cold One” like that. It was a Black New Orleans band with horns and background singers and a violin player — not Juilliard violin but like a janky New Orleans violin. The dude had the damn thing on his shoulder, not under his chin.
Everything was wrong for what that song is. I’m not convinced anyone even knew the song. But we found our spot in the middle of it, and it was killer. I flew home thinking: I want to do a record this way.”
Then earlier this year, Church performed at Shorty’s 40th birthday bash in New Orleans, taking the stage along with R&B and gospel legend Mavis Staples and Maggie Rogers to perform “The Weight.”
It’s no surprise that Shorty included Church in his special halftime performance, given the obvious respect that the two have for each other as artists despite their different styles of music.
(If you haven’t seen a Trombone Shorty show though, you need to make it a point to do it if you get a chance. He is a BAD man and puts on a heck of a show. Just an absolute legend in New Orleans who’s managed to have success all around the world).
While it may have seemed like an unlikely collaboration, it actually made more sense when you knew the backstory – and after seeing them on stage together, it just made me want even more from these two together.
A tour, a Super Bowl halftime show, an album, I don’t care what it is. Get these two musical geniuses get together and let them cook.
