Anthrax Singer Joey Belladonna Excited To Perform National Anthem This Sunday

Joey Belladonna has accomplished a lot throughout his career. While being best known as the vocalist for Anthrax, his resume goes much deeper. He's done solo gigs and is also a part of the band Chief Big Way and Journey cover band, Beyond Frontiers. Now, Joey Belladonna will take on a different challenge--the National Anthem.

This Sunday, he'll be doing a different sort of cover. Belladonna will be putting his unique spin on the National Anthem in Denver ahead of the Broncos versus Chiefs game. He'll also be performing it again in December when the Dallas Cowboys take on the Buffalo Bills.

I had the chance to talk to Joey back in August on my Talkin' Rock podcast and he was already preparing to perform the National Anthem. Given his wide range of vocals and groups, I asked him what's hardest for him to sing: Journey, Anthrax, or the National Anthem? His answer was that of a pure pro. At first, he said "None of them." He made a joke that if they were hard, he wouldn't do them. Which is something I can appreciate.

As far as performing the National Anthem goes, Joey Belladonna told me, "I get a little more nervous because you're on your own. They point to you within seconds...and go 'go!' I have no set way of doing it, I just wing it. Put a little sauce on it." He later continued by adding, "You're just out there by yourself...the lead up to it is exciting. You can feel it in the air...just to do it, it's intense."

Joey is no stranger to performing in front of massive crowds. He's been rocking audiences for 40 years now. However, his performance this Sunday could be a little different because there could be a very special influential person in the audience. In case you haven't heard, there's been a pretty famous person attending Kansas City Chiefs games lately. Check out who he hopes is in the crowd in his video from X (formerly Twitter) below.

Count me among the people who are completely sick of seeing Taylor Swift in the suite, fist-bumping, and doing stupid touchdown dance moves. UGH! That being said, I'm down with Joey....go kill it, dude!

-Meltdown-

What a fun night at Soaring Eagle casino in Mount Pleasant Saturday night. I've only been to outdoor shows up there so it was cool to see one in theatre. If you get the chance to see a show there, do it! Cool venue and a lot of fun.

From what I understand, this was their first metal show there. Yes, the amount of chairs on the floor, and lack of a pit was not lost on the bands. LOL

One of the things I really like, is when I travel to a show like this and bump into Detroit rock fans. When the pandemic shut the world down, I didn't realize until Metallica did their drive-in concert in September of that year, that the true concert experience is sharing it with like-minded people. That's one of the things I missed the most, as I was telling my friends Jay and Marc at the bar. There's just something about hanging with people who are all their for the same thing...the love of the music, experience, environment, seeing your favorite rock stars, hanging with friends. All things I think we took for granted before the lockdown.

Saturday night was proof that rock/metal is alive and well, and the fans are there to see it! Great to see everyone.

A special thanks to my concert going buddies, Tim and Otto. Always fun!

-Meltdown-

Whose performance of the National Anthem is your favorite all-time? Let us know in the comments!