The NFL announced Wednesday that Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and lead singer of legendary rock band HEART, Ann Wilson, will sing the U.S. national anthem at festivities at the Draft Theater in Cleveland on Thursday, April 29, as part of the NFL Draft Concert Series presented by Bose. Grammy Award winners KINGS OF LEON will perform as part of the Draft opening festivities. Their full performance will be streamed on NFL.com, in the NFL app and live on the NFL‘s Facebook page. Portions of the performance will also be televised in NFL Network, ESPN and ABC‘s pre-Draft coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
Tapping into the talent of the local community, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s All-City Choir will perform a special rendition of Lift Every Voice And Sing, live from the Draft Theater. The national anthem and Lift Every Voice And Sing performances will be broadcast live on NFL Network and ESPN.
Cleveland local cover group THE SUNRISE JONES will serve as the house band and will provide entertainment in between Draft selections on Thursday, April 29 and Friday, April 30. Since 2013, THE SUNRISE JONES has been a fan favorite across Northeastern Ohio with their rollicking renditions of a variety of music genres.
In addition to the Night 1 festivities at the Draft Theater, attending prospects will walk the NFL Draft Red Carpet, located on the plaza of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Select invited guests will be invited to welcome prospects as they begin their Draft Night journey. The NFL Draft Red Carpet will be televised on NFL Network beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
Headlining acts for Night 2 and 3 of the NFL Draft Concert Series presented by Bose will be announced in the coming weeks.
The league previously announced the 2021 NFL Draft will take place across iconic downtown Cleveland locations including FirstEnergy Stadium, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the Great Lakes Science Center, with the Draft Theater being set against the backdrop of Lake Erie.
The NFL Draft Experience — the NFL‘s interactive football theme park — will be free and open to the public around FirstEnergy Stadium during all three days of the Draft.
Reservations will be required to attend the free Draft Experience through the NFL OnePass app, which is now available for download.
The Draft Theater will not be visible from the Draft Experience; however, fans will be able to view the Draft from multiple screens around the Draft Experience during their OnePass reserved time slot. There is also opportunity to watch the Draft inside FirstEnergy Stadium for fans who have Draft Experience reservations during the times that Draft is operational.
All three days of the NFL Draft will be broadcast on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC, including two nights of primetime coverage on Thursday and Friday.
