Lauren Daigle & Trombone Shorty Team Up for New Orleans-Inspired ‘America the Beautiful’ Ahead of 2025 Super Bowl

Lauren Daigle was joined by her fellow Louisiana native Trombone Shorty for a New Orleans-flavored take on “America the Beautiful” ahead of the 2025 Super Bowl.

Trombone Shorty kicked things off with a wailing trombone line before Daigle began singing the patriotic standard. After the first verse, we got one more trombone solo before Daigle took lead vocals again. They were flanked by a sousaphone and guitar player for the NOLA-inspired, jaunty take on the song.

It’s not the first time the musicians have joined forces: Trombone Shorty (born and raised in New Orleans) enlisted Daigle (born in Lake Charles, Lousiana) for the song “What It Takes” from his 2022 album Lifted, and they performed together at that year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Daigle and Trombone Shorty are both Grammy-winning artists, with the Christian singer/songwriter taking home a pair of prizes in 2019 for best contemporary Christian music album and best contemporary Christian music performance/song, and the trombone aficianado winning as part of the ensemble behind Jon Batiste’s album of the year We Are in 2022.

Other pre-game acts included Ledisi performing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” Jon Batiste performing the national anthem, and a New Orleans-inspired performance of marching bands alongside hometown hero Harry Connick Jr.

Kendrick Lamar will headline the halftime show at the 2025 Super Bowl, bringing out SZA as an announced special guest. He comes into the Super Bowl after sweeping all five of his categories for at the 2025 Grammys a week ago, including record and song of the year for “Not Like Us.”