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The 2017 Winter Classic will feature lots of blues

The St. Louis Blues are hosting the Chicago Blackhawks for the upcoming Winter Classic at Busch Stadium, and their music choices for the event seem appropriate. The Blues will be playing a bunch of blues, per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Mark Lazerus.

Spencer Ludwig will open the day with a trumpet performance of the national anthem, which will be followed by a flyover featuring four A-10 jets. Ludwig is a Los Angeles-based recording artist who has performed with artists Foster the People, Fitz and the Tantrums, Portugal. The Man, and St. Lucia.

After that, the first intermission will feature a performance by Missouri’s own Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, and the Charles Glenn Band and the Central Baptist Church Choir will perform during the second intermission. St. Louis’ own Marquise Knox Band will serve as the house blues band, entertaining fans throughout the game.

Personally, like Laz, I am very much in favor of this decision. First, when your team is literally named after a style of music, you should probably own that by actually playing said style of music. Second, the blues is a uniquely American form of music we should all be proud of. And finally, given how hockey games usually throw the same array of rock jams our way, this seems like another cool way to differentiate the game from others.

I mean, watching an NHL game outdoors, eating some junk food, and drinking some drinks while a live band sends some of the smoothest beats imaginable into your ear holes? Sure, seems neat, even with a chance of rain.

The Winter Classic is set for Monday afternoon at Busch Stadium and will be broadcast on NBC. If you’re one of the lucky thousands who will be attending, the music should be another reason this isn’t quite your normal hockey game.

Talking Points