Weeks after delivering a powerful a cappella rendition of the U.S. national anthem at a Pittsburgh Steelers NFL game, Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has been tapped for an encore performance. The legendary British vocalist will once again sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” next week, this time at the home opener for the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings.
The performance is scheduled for Tuesday, October 7, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, where the Kings will face the Colorado Avalanche. Dickinson announced the news in a new video message.
“Bruce Dickinson here. And guess what — on the 5th [of October], I’m at the Wiltern, in Los Angeles, obviously, [performing with my solo band], and on the 7th [of October], yeah, I’m gonna be banging the drum for the L.A. Kings home opener. And I’m also gonna be singing, I believe, the U.S. national anthem as a Brit,” he said.
The invitation follows his widely praised performance at the Steelers game on September 14. For that appearance, a challenge he admitted he had “never done before in my f**king life,” Dickinson cleverly used his own solo concert in Boston on September 11 as an impromptu public rehearsal.
“I’ve been asked to sing the American national anthem at a Pittsburgh Steelers game,” he told the Boston crowd at the time. “I thought, with your kind permission, I would have a go at the American national anthem, because it’s the only f**king time I’m gonna practice it.” He also shared a piece of advice he received from his friends in the punk band Bad Religion: “F**king make sure you start low.”
Dickinson‘s repeat invitation to perform the anthem is a testament to the success of that first performance. The L.A. Kings appearance is conveniently timed around his solo tour, as he is scheduled to play a show at The Wiltern in Los Angeles just two days prior. The Metal God is quickly and unexpectedly becoming a go-to anthem singer for major American sports leagues.
