Eric Church to Mark Special Anniversary With Monday Night Football Performance

Eric Church is ready for Monday night. The New Orleans Saints recently announced that the country star will perform during their upcoming Monday Night Football matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.

On Oct. 5, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue will headline the halftime show. Church will serve as a special guest alongside Kirk Franklin, Juvenile, Cyril Neville, and Ivan Neville.

The halftime performance is coming on an important night for the Saints. The game will serve as a 20-year anniversary celebration of the team’s return to Caesars Superdome following Hurricane Katrina.

Also scheduled for Monday night is a special performance of the national anthem. Grammy Award-winning New Orleans music icon Irma Thomas and rising local artist River Eckert will team up for the performance.

Additionally, during the game, the Saints also honor Steve Gleason and Curtis Deloatch as Legends of the Game. The distinction honors their roles in the blocked punt touchdown that ignited the Saints’ victory over the Falcons.

Several members of the 2006 Saints team will be recognized throughout the evening. That will give fans the opportunity to welcome back the players who helped author one of the most meaningful nights in New Orleans sports history.

The game will air Monday, Oct. 5 at 7:15 CT on ESPN.

Eric Church’s NFL Connection

Church’s halftime performance isn’t his only recent connection to the NFL. Back in May, Nashville won their bid to host the Super Bowl in 2030. Afterwards, reports surfaced that Church— along with singer Tim McGraw, comedian Nate Bargatze, and others—was part of a committee that worked to convince the NFL to give Music City their first Super Bowl.

Amid the bid process, Church spoke out about the significance of hosting the big game.

“If you look at what makes great Super Bowls and great Super Bowl cities, Nashville checks every box,” he said during an appearance on the Hometown Titans podcast. “What they’ve been waiting on is enough of the growth that you had the hotels and you had the infrastructure to support it, right? It’s just that getting the Super Bowl or the Final Four or the College Football Playoff or Nashville, that’s a big, big thing for a city.”

After the Nashville Super Bowl was confirmed, Church spoke out about his hopes for the halftime show.

“The main thing is, when you come to Music City and you come to Nashville, I’m advocating not for myself, but I’m advocating for country music to have its part in that Super Bowl halftime,” he told the local Fox affiliate. “So I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that’s involved.”

Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

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