One of the best things about this New Orleans Super Bowl is how much organizers are going all-in on representing the city’s culture. It is dripping from the pre-game performances, and Trombone Shorty is going to blow people away with his rendition of America the Beautiful on Sunday.
Meet Trombone Shorty, Super Bowl’s ‘America the Beautiful’ singer
Trombone Shorty is a national treasure.
Photo by Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Trombone Shorty hails from New Orleans’ legendary Tremé neighborhood, known for creating some of the most legendary jazz musicians in the city. Shorty (whose real name is Troy Andrews) comes from a family raised in this tradition, with his grandfather playing with the icon Fats Domino.
A modern trombone prodigy, Short began playing the instrument at age four — because his brother already played trumpet in the family. By six he was playing trombone with some of the most influential and notable jazz musicians in the city. Coming into his own sound as an adult, Trombone Shorty blends jazz, funk, and hip hop into a style all of its own, marrying his old-school chops for jazz in new ways.
In addition to being an award-winning musician, Shorty has appeared in the fictional HBO series Tremé, which centered on the neighborhood as it recovered from Hurricane Katrina.
Once you’ve heard Trombone Shorty you’re not the same, and this is a mammoth stage to introduce a whole new group of people to his world.
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