Rock band Styx has will perform of the National Anthem before the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Thursday Night Football game against the New England Patriots at Acrisure Stadium this Thursday, the team announced on its website.
Styx has performed the national anthem several times and held concerts at the venue in the past. The band also made an announcement on its Instagram page.
Though originally from Chicago, the band has formed a special relationship with Pittsburgh and the Steelers since its song “Renegade” has become a Heinz Field and Steelers fan anthem.
The song, now usually played before an important defensive drive in the fourth quarter along with scoreboard video of defensive highlights set to the music. The practice started when the Steelers hosted the Browns in the 2002 NFL Playoffs, after the team had come back to take the lead late in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers are pulling out all the stops for Thursday’s game from a fan-experience standpoint. The team will be wearing their alternate Color Rush uniforms, and also painted the end zones at Acrisure Stadium gold in a throwback to the way they used to look at Three Rivers Stadium.
Styx has been together since 1972, with two original members: singers and guitar player JY Young and bassist Chuck Panozzo still with the band. Guitarist and singer Tommy Shaw has been with Styx since 1975. “Renegade” was the top hit from their 1978 album Pieces of Eight and reached No. 16 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
The band is still touring, co-headlining a 2024 tour with Foreigner that will visit The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pa. on July 31.