Super Bowl LX takes place tonight, with kick off scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, in Santa Clara, California. The No. 2 New England Patriots will represent the AFC while the No. 1 Seattle Seahawks will represent the NFC.
Before the teams face off, as with all Super Bowls there will be pregame performances. The national anthem, “America the Beautiful” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” will all be performed before kickoff.
Singer Coco Jones and renowned Deaf music artist Fred Beam will bring us “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which is often referred to as the Black national anthem.
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Shanna McCarriston
The song originally written by James Weldon Johnson, author, educator, lawyer and civil rights activist, in 1899. Johnson sought to write a poem to honor President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. His brother John Rosamond Johnson composed the music for the poem turned hymn, as James considered it. The song has been an important piece of work for over a century.
Jones has made a name for herself as an R&B artist and has numerous awards on her resume. In 2024, she was nominated for five Grammys and won Best R&B Performance for her song “ICU,” which is platinum certified. In 2025 she earned two more Grammy nominations for “Here We Go (Uh Oh)” and this year is up for Best R&B Album for Why Not More?
She is also an actress, appearing as a main character on Bel-Air, a show based on hit sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Beam’s talents extend wide in the arts world. He is an actor, dancer, poet, educator, choreographer, director and visual artist. He performed in the first deaf play “I Didn’t Hear That Color” and has produced and directed numerous plays.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” has been performed at the last four Super Bowls and last year was performed by Ledisi. Alicia Keys, Mary Mary and Andra Day have also given fans their rendition of the song ahead of past Super Bowls.