Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson Says He’ll Handle Anthem Duties At A Steelers Game
Bruce Dickinson has a show in the Pittsburgh area the night before the Steelers home opener
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is a notoriously hard song to sing or play. Just ask those two dudes in Brazil on the saxophone and the double-bass how hard it is to rip a rendition of it and get glowing reviews.
But do you know who can probably handle it? One of the greatest, if not the greatest, heavy metal vocalists of all-time, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden.
Sure, I may be a little biased, but the frontman for the legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal pioneers can certainly handle Francis Scott Key's lyrics, and it looks like he might get the chance to give it a whirl.
Dickinson is currently on tour with his solo band in support of his 2024 solo album, The Mandrake Project (which is great), and he hopped on an interview with the YouTube channel "The Charismatic Voice."
During the two-hour-plus interview, the singer/pilot/fencer/writer/many-more-things revealed that he's going to handle anthem duties for a Pittsburgh Steelers game.
"I'll let you into a secret. So, I've got to sing the national anthem in Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh Steelers," he said. "They've asked me to do this. I'm going to do it a cappella and stuff, and as long as you start at the right place, you're good to go."
As the above tweet mentions, this would likely be for the Steelers' home opener on September 14 against the Seattle Seahawks. Dickinson performs the night before in the Pittsburgh area and then has a show later in the day in Silver Spring, Maryland. That 1 PM kickoff should allow for plenty of time for him to get to the gig.
There hasn't been any official confirmation from the team… but this would be a very strange thing for Dickinson to just make up.
Now, I'm pretty psyched to hear this because I'm a massive fan of Iron Maiden and of Bruce's solo body of work. But, even if I wasn't, I'd think it's cool to see the Steelers pick an out-of-the-box singer to get their home slate opened up.
And a Brit, no less!
WHAT?!
But, as I said, a guy who sings "Run To The Hills," "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," and the like for a living can probably handle "The Star-Spangled Banner."