NEW YORK – Country music’s hottest rising star Shaboozey will help the Utah Hockey Club begin its inaugural season with a free concert outside Delta Center in downtown Salt Lake City before the team faces the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, Oct. 8 (10 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. MT, ESPN, ESPN+, SN, SN360, TVAS), the National Hockey League and Utah Hockey Club announced today. The concert will begin at 5:30 p.m. MT before Delta Center doors open to ticketed guests at 6:30 p.m. MT for the game.
Shaboozey will perform his chart-topping hits including “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which currently sits atop the Billboard Hot 100 for the 12th time this year and the Hot Country Songs chart for the 16th week. Last week, he received Best New Artist and Best New Artist Song honors at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards. Shaboozey’s performance is part of the festivities that are free and open to the public for Utah Hockey Club’s Inaugural Game Celebration, presented by Delta Air Lines. Details on the day’s attractions and activities that will take place outside Delta Center on Oct. 8 for Utah’s season opener will be announced soon.
ESPN will be live from Salt Lake City for its tripleheader coverage of the North American Opening Night of the 2024-25 NHL season, beginning at 2 p.m. MT. ESPN’s broadcast set at Delta Center plaza will capture the enthusiasm of the NHL’s newest franchise throughout all three games, including St. Louis Blues-Seattle Kraken at 4:30 p.m. ET followed by Boston Bruins-Florida Panthers at 7 p.m. ET and concluding with Chicago-Utah at 10 p.m. ET.
Portions of Shaboozey’s performance will be featured during the broadcast. Fans are encouraged to join in the celebration at Delta Center plaza starting at 2 p.m. MT.
The concert is produced by NHL Entertainment. For up-to-date information on Opening Night, follow the Utah Hockey Club on Instagram, X and TikTok.
About Shaboozey
Shaboozey is building his own world, carving his lane in the alternative country and hip-hop space. Born to parents of Nigerian descent and raised in the small town of Woodbridge, VA, the multi-faceted artist grew up on an eclectic mix of music encompassing classic hip-hop and R&B, to country and blues icons like Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, Garth Brooks, and Lead Belly, to master lyricists, such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.
A true crossover artist, he began his epic rise to stardom with two standout features on Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER—the only artist with multiple appearances on the album. His latest body of work, the critically acclaimed masterpiece Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, debuted in the top five of the Billboard 200 and was praised by The New York Times for “bring[ing] hip-hop grit to country” and by Rolling Stone for “honoring country tradition and moving it forward.” The album’s smash single “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” has achieved 5X RIAA- platinum certification, holds the longest reign of 2024 at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has broken records dominating Billboard’s Country Airplay and Mediabase/ Country Aircheck charts. The single has accumulated over a billion streams across DSPs, propelled him into mainstream stardom, cemented itself as 2024’s song of the summer, and made history with Beyoncé’s “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM,” as the first Black artists to score back-to-back leaders on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
Staying true to his Virginian roots, Shaboozey strives to continue the region’s long-standing tradition of prolific creativity, this time by expanding the scope of contemporary hip-hop and introducing modern Americana to a global audience. He’ll soon embark on his nationwide, sold-out “Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going” headline fall tour followed by a run of arena performances as support for Jelly Roll’s “Beautifully Broken Tour.”
