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.
Videos by American Songwriter
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!
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
