Boston Bruins
Black Keys, Bell Biv DeVoe Headline Winter Classic Music Acts
The NHL can be hit or miss with the musical act choices for their big-ticket events like the NHL Awards or the Stanley Cup Final, but they hit the mark with the top music entertainment slated to play at Fenway Park for the Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins next month.
The NHL announced that the Black Keys will headline while playing the first period intermission at Fenway Park, and that the pride of Roxbury, Bell Biv DeVoe, will sing the US national anthem backed by the Boston Pops Orchestra. In fact, it sounds like the Boston Pops will be camped out in the centerfield area of Fenway providing musical accompaniment throughout the Jan. 2 outdoor hockey game between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Bell Biv Devoe was at the height of their R&B powers back in the early 1990’s, of course, but became a full-blown success out of their own after stepping out from New Edition and accepted a Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 along with a celebrated New Edition mini-series on BET a few years back in 2017.
We’ll have to wait and see if they bust out the 1990’s dance moves after singing the Star-Spangled Banner at Fenway.
NHL announced the Black Keyes will be playing live at Fenway Park during 1st intermission of the Winter Classic and that Roxbury's own Bell Biv Devoe will sing the national anthem backed by the Boston Pops. That's some legit music entertainment for the WC I'm excited to see/hear pic.twitter.com/gqsbXIzzlR
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) December 21, 2022
It would also be great if the trio is outfitted in Boston Bruins Winter Classic gear while singing the anthem as all three, and particularly Michael Bivins, are diehard Boston sports fans.
Michael Bivins says he thought he played for the @celtics at the old @Boston Garden when he once got a basketball hoop for Christmas – https://t.co/6fiPdZVy4V#Celtics pic.twitter.com/ffTwH0rYIK
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) December 25, 2017
A full outline of game presentation plans for the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic® will be announced in the coming days.
Per the NHL’s press release, the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic® continues the tradition the League established in 2008 of hosting a regular-season outdoor game at the onset of the new year, with the 2023 edition marking the 15-year anniversary of the first NHL Winter Classic® in Buffalo. The game will be the 14th NHL Winter Classic®, the 36th NHL regular-season outdoor game, and the first of two NHL regular-season outdoor games scheduled for the 2022-23 season.
The performances will be part of the 2 pm broadcast on TNT set for Monday, Jan. 2, as Fenway becomes the first outdoor venue to host two Winter Classics after also serving as the setting for the 2010 Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers at the Red Sox home ballpark.