Lenny Kravitz to Kick-Off UEFA Champions League Final

Lenny Kravitz will get the ball rolling with a special performance ahead of next month’s UEFA Champions League Final.

The U.S. rock star will strut his stuff ahead of European club soccer’s showpiece event on Saturday, June 1, when he plays classics and debuts songs from Blue Electric Light (via Roxie Records/BMG), his forthcoming 12th studio album.

Kravitz will perform during the Kick Off show at London’s Wembley Stadium, ahead of the match between German heavyweights Dortmund and Spanish colossus Real Madrid. According to tournament reps, 90,000 fans will fill the stadium, and a global audience of 100 million will be watching on their screens.

“It’s going to be such an exciting event ahead of a final that means so much to so many,” Kravitz says in a statement. “We can’t wait to show you all what we have in store.”

This is the eighth year that Pepsi and UEFA will raise the curtain on the Champions League final with the Kick Off program.

To build the buzz ahead of match day, Pepsi releases a short film “Wembley Is Blue” starring Kravitz in full artist-mode, slapping some paint on the venue, cracking open a can of Pepsi and plugging in his Flying V for a performance of “Fly Away.”

The veteran musician has been a force on the awards trail this year, scoring a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, recognition from the CFDA with their Fashion Icon Award, and the Music Icon Award at the 2024 People’s Choice Awards, though he will need to wait a little longer to join the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.

Blue Electric Light is due out next Friday, May 24, and captures “celebration, life, humanity, sexuality, sensuality, spirituality,” he recently explained on late-night TV.

Kravitz will support the album with a summer European arena and festival tour, starting June 23 at Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany.

Lars Brandle

Billboard