Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Little Big Town and many other of your favorite country artists are huge Nashville Predators fans and have performed the National Anthem, along with Trisha Yearwood, Kelly Clarkson and Martina McBride and Faith Hill (for Game 6). Not only is it exciting that the Preds are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but that this run has really brought people together.
“This is what we’ve all been hoping for as hockey fans in this town that we’d make it this far in the playoffs, ‘cause the further you go, the more people come in. I mean, making it to the playoffs like this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a lot of teams,” says long-time season ticket holder Dierks. “I’ve got some friends who work for the NHL, and they said they’ve never seen an atmosphere like the one here in Nashville. They said it’s like collegiate – the chants, the way everyone chants together and the volume is the loudest they’ve ever heard it anywhere in the country. It’s not so much about what the Stanley Cup means to Nashville, it’s more about what Nashville is doing for hockey. I mean we’re doing a lot more for the NHL is doing then what the NHL is doing for us. We’re showing really the NHL what a really great hockey town looks like.”
“For the city of Nashville specially, and I think our entire state, there’s such an electricity about the Preds and what’s going on and how hard they have worked and how incredible they are doing,” says Lady A’s Hillary Scott.
Luke performed a pre-show concert today (June 11th) prior to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup game, and his No. 1 single, “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” was shown live on NBC.
"Nashville is on FIRE with hockey, right now!" –@LukeBryanOnline#StanleyCup 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/LG1Ghqxz80
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) June 12, 2017
.@FaithHill with an INCREDIBLE performance of the National Anthem tonight in Nashville (and a cameo by @TheTimMcGraw!) 🇺🇸👏 pic.twitter.com/JSzu1Iy3WI
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) June 12, 2017
Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about excitement Nashville is feeling for their NHL Predators during the Stanley Cup playoff run.
DownloadDierks Bentley (Preds Stanley Cup) OC: …hockey town looks like. 1:10
“This is the time to get into it. This is what we’ve all been hoping for as hockey fans in this town that we’d make it this far in the playoffs, ‘cause the further you go, the more people come in. I mean, making it to the playoffs like this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a lot of teams. So, you’ve got some guys on the team like Vernon Fiddler, those guys were out buying season tickets 10 years ago to keep the team here, so you have players that actually invested [their] own money to keep the team in Nashville. There will never be another year like this one where there’s so much excitement, and it’s so raw. It’s one thing to watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it’s not until your team gets there do you really realize how much it takes to get there, how much heart. We lost a lot of people to some serious injuries and these guys keep stepping up and going in. Just to see what’s going on here, it’s just weird. I’ve got some friends who work for the NHL, and they said they’ve never seen an atmosphere like the one here in Nashville. They said it’s like collegiate – the chants, the way everyone chants together and the volume is the loudest they’ve ever heard it anywhere in the country. It’s not so much about what the Stanley Cup means to Nashville, it’s more about what Nashville is doing for hockey. I mean we’re doing a lot more for the NHL is doing then what the NHL is doing for us. We’re showing really the NHL what a really great hockey town looks like.”
Audio / Lady Antebellum, who performed the National Anthem during the Western Conference final, talk about the Nashville Predators and the excitement that the entire town is feeling during the playoffs.
DownloadLady A (Nashville Predators) OC: …there, yeah. :41
HILLARY: “For the city of Nashville specially, and I think our entire state, there’s such an electricity about the Preds and what’s going on and how hard they have worked and how incredible they are doing.” CHARLES: “It’s very unifying feeling that is happening, because after what I would consider a very divided political campaign and election year, it was nice to like feel all these people come together (HILLARY: “Our whole city”). It’s what we all hope for and wish for just in live to have that feeling. I’ve never felt anything like being in that arena during a Preds game. (HILLARY: “Our fans are loud.”) It’s the loudest I’ve ever heard. I think they broke a decibel level one of the nights that we were there, yeah.”
Audio / Prior to putting on a pre-game show on the roof of Tootsies in downtown Nashville, Luke Bryan talks about the energy and excitement Music City is enjoying because of the Nashville Predators NHL team.
DownloadLuke Bryan (Nashville Predators) OC: …so fun. :48
“This atmosphere that we’ve had the whole playoffs in Bridgestone [Arena] has, I don’t know if you can mimic it anywhere. The only thing I could compare it to is the SEC Championship type moments and the National Championship type moments [in college football]. You see furniture stores around here selling Preds gear [laughs]. So, I mean, totally it’s that vibe, certainly that crazy, energetic vibe in Bridgestone. And I was at that game where they clinched the finals and I mean we had people in our suite, I mean, crying. It was really emotional and a lot of energy. It’s been an amazing ride, so fun.”