Michigan native and Platinum-selling songwriter and performer Tauren Wells is set to perform the National Anthem on Thursday (Nov. 24)—aka Thanksgiving Day—in Detroit as part of the annual NFL game in the Motor City.
This year, the Lions are matched up against the vaunted Buffalo Bills (7-3). It’s also the only nationally televised game for Detroit this year. The Lions, who are 4-6 (but second in their NFC North Division), always play on Turkey Day, however. It’s a multi-decades-long tradition!
Videos by American Songwriter
The game kicks off at 12:30 PM Eastern.
Wells, a 10-time Grammy Award nominee, will sing in Ford Field, belting out the patriotic tune before the game’s official kickoff. He is originally from Battle Creek, Michigan.
The singer, who now spends a lot of his time in Houston, Texas, working also as a worship leader, is known for making contemporary Christian music. He is a founding member of the group, Royal Tailor, which later disbanded in 2015. Wells released his first solo single, “Undefeated,” in 2016. His performance at the Lions came comes on the heels of Wells’ recent string of tour dates, including his first appearance a the Grand Ole Opry.
Earlier this year, the 36-year-old Wells released three singles—”Fake It,” “Empty” and “Come Home—ahead of the release of this third studio LP, Joy in the Morning, which dropped in June.
Wells was also a subject of a recent American Songwriter print magazine piece, in which the artist talked about his newest album. For more on that, check it out HERE.
The Detroit Lions announced Well’s performance on Twitter, writing, “Platinum-selling recording artist and 10-time GRAMMY Award nominee @taurenwells, from Battle Creek, MI, will perform the National Anthem for the 83rd Thanksgiving Day Class.”
Check out Wells’ video for “Fake It” below.
Of the song’s origin, Wells told American Songwriter, “This one was a song where we were just chilling in the studio talking about life. This was one of the first writes back from the pandemic, so we were just kind of processing all of that. Chris Stevens, who is an amazing producer said, ‘I’ve got a fun track.’ He played it. There was just so much joy in the room immediately, just from the vibe of it, the excitement of it. So it turned into a really fun day when we really needed it. That’s my hope with the song, that when people hear it, they feel that sense of celebration. It was a fun one to write.”
Photo by Jamie Gilliam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Most Viewed
-
Huty23631 0001 -
UNSPECIFIED – SEPTEMBER 01: Photo of Raspberries (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 30: Alan Jackson performs at the Coal Miner's Daughter: A Celebration Of The Life & Music Of Loretta Lynn at the Grand Ole Opry on October 30, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images) -
UNITED STATES – DECEMBER 04: Photo of Emmylou Harris, December 4, 1979, California, North Hollywood, Palomino Club, Emmylou Harris. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
American singer, songwriter and pianist, Ray Charles (1930 – 2004) performing at the Olympia in Paris, France on May 18, 1962. (Photo by REPORTERS ASSOCIES/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) -
English rock and pop group The Hollies perform the song 'Sorry Suzanne' on the set of the BBC Television pop music television show Top Of The Pops at Lime Grove Studios in London on 27th March 1969. Members of the band are, from left, Tony Hicks, Bobby Elliott, Allan Clarke, Terry Sylvester and Bernie Calvert. (Photo by Ivan Keeman/Redferns) -
LAS VEGAS – APRIL 06: ***EXCLUSIVE*** Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn perform "The Cowboy Rides Away' onstage during the 44th annual Academy Of Country Music Awards' Artist of the Decade held at the MGM Grand on April 6, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Winter/ACM2009/Getty Images for ACM)
