2020 Summer Concert

Working at a radio station usually means that summer is a big season with all the various concerts and festivals rolling through town as we normally have free tickets and passes to give away. Obviously, that's not happening this summer with the pandemic in full effect still, but those who are in the know certainly can still see their favorite artists possibly performing virtual concerts via video through social media. Yes, it's not the same, but at least you get some live music. While the hope is that we'll see concerts return soon, the likelihood of that happening seems to grow smaller by the day as COVID-19 re-establishes its grip on humanity after we've failed to heed warnings and acknowledge the safety protocols from medical experts.

In saying that, HBIC is proud to bring you its 2020 Summer Concert as I have a pile of musicians wearing hockey jerseys sitting in a folder. There's no music involved in this concert unfortunately, but we will check out the hockey jerseys worn, accepted as gifts, and held by musicians across the globe as they toured prior to the coronavirus outbreak. Without further adieu, kick back, enjoy the show, and check out all the acts!

The Backstreet Boys continue to tour despite most of them being middle-aged now, but they blew through Anaheim on their latest tour where they gladly donned the new alternate jerseys for the Anaheim Ducks! I understand they get hot on stage with the dancing and moving, but the sleeves are necessary on hockey jerseys, gentlemen. The boys also made stops in Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Denver where it seems they were given an assortment of Kroenke-owned Denver team jerseys as Nick Carter sports the Avalanche's jersey.

Robert Smith of The Cure has his fair share of jerseys, but we have more to show off today as Smith was seen wearing the threads of the Dallas Stars, the New York Islanders' Fisherman jersey, and a Soviet Union hockey jersey! I am now a Robert Smith fan simply due to that Fisherman jersey since there aren't many musicians who have worn it! And a Soviet jersey? Dude's got good taste in jerseys!

Another guy who has a closet full of hockey jerseys is Snoop Dogg. Snoop's an admitted hockey fan, and he's back today wearing the colours of the Los Angeles Kings' throwback jersey, the Kings' Stadium Series jersey, and a 2018 NHL All-Star Game jersey from Tampa Bay! Snoop might have a more complete collection of jerseys than the NHL itself at this point.

March 2, 1973 saw The Guess Who in concert on a TV and radio series called ABC-TV in Concert that was aired by ABC. That's before my time, but apparently it didn't stop Burton Cummings from appealing to the Santa Monica, California crowd with a Boston Bruins jersey? And how cool was the temperature in Santa Monica to warrant wearing a hockey sweater to perform in? His writing and performing partner in the band, Randy Bachman, brought some hockey to the recording studio later in his career when he wore a Vancouver Canucks jersey.

I wouldn't necessarily think of this band as the first option in Nashville, but Slipknot performed there and Pekka Rinne got some love from drummer Jay Weinberg!

Shania Twain added another jersey to her collection of assorted hockey wear as she was invited to sound the alarm at the Vegan Golden Knights game where she wore a cap and jersey!

While he's known more for his acting now, Mark Wahlberg started out as a musician. With his heavy ties to the Boston area through his businesses and his upbringing, isn't it sacrilege for him to be wearing Max Domi's Montreal Canadiens jersey?

Paul Brandt seems to like his Canadian roots as we've already seen him in a Team Canada jersey, but it looks like he went out and had it customized with a music note on the back and sleeves in similiar fashion to what he has on his Flames jersey! Is this Paul Brandt's thing with his jerseys? His white Canada jersey has no customization that I've seen, and his new Canadian Olympic jersey has him wearing #17. We need some consistency here, Paul! He also wore a CHL jersey when he performed the Canadian national anthem at the Memorial Cup, he wore an Ottawa Senators jersey while on tour in the nation's capital, and he wore the Calgary Flames Heritage Classic jersey when he did the anthem for that game.

Clay Aiken makes another appearance on these lists when he donned a Dallas Stars jersey while touring a while back.

Brett Kissel is already on the list for the Oilers, but he got himself an orange jersey when he sung the anthem at a recent Edmonton Oilers game.

We've seen Billy Joel on these lists before, but we're never seen any of his band accept or wear a jersey as it's usually Joel accepting the honour. Today, we can add Chuck Burgi, the drummer for Billy Joel's band, to the list in a New York Rangers jersey! As a #00, could it be a John Davdison jersey? Thanks for sending this one over, John!

Def Leppard was out on tour again in 2019, and they stopped in Winnipeg where they got their very own Aviator jerseys!

This probably isn't the look that the New York Islanders want, but Flava Flav was sporting the Islanders jersey as he was being led away by police.

Aston Simmonds, better known by his performance name of Daniel Caesar, toured through Winnipeg and wore a Winnipeg Jets Heritage Classic jersey while he was in town.

The Hunter Brothers stopped in Edmonton where JJ Hunter got on the good side of the fans by wearing the colours of the Edmonton Oilers. It was even customized with his last name!

Justin Bieber is a mainstay on these lists. Here he is with his good buddy, Auston Matthews, in yet another Leafs jersey.

I know nothing about Smino, a St. Louis-born rapper, who has been in a bunch of rap groups and done some of his solo work, but he's pretty proud of his hometown hockey team.

I was expecting the world to explode when Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 fame met Rob Thomas of St. Louis Blues fame, but it seems the universe survived a Rob Thomas-squared math paradox when Rob Thomas presented Rob Thomas with a Rob Thomas St. Louis Blues jersey. Got all that? My head is spinning.

Luke Bryan got himself a Brad Marchand jersey from Brad Marchand. No word on whether Marchand licked the jersey or Bryan's face.

Luke Combs' tour through Winnipeg saw the musician receive an AHL Manitoba Moose jersey. Why True North Sports and Entertainment didn't give him a Jets jersey is a bit of a mystery, but Combs seems happy with the Moose threads.

Pop band Four Years Strong hails from Worcester, Massachusetts, so it was cool seeing drummer Jake Massucco repping the ECHL's Worcester Railers as he kept time for the band.

I know I've already posted Freddie Mercury with his personalized Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, but here's a shot of Queen backstage in Toronto where they are letting loose while receiving those Leafs jerseys!

John Mayer stopped in St. Louis on a recent tour stop, and he received a Blues jersey, wore a Blues jersey, performed in a Blues jersey, and was shown on the big screen in a Blues jersey while there.

Florida Georgia Line stopped in St. Louis as well to pick up a couple of sleeveless Blues jerseys as they performed. The jerseys even came personalized for the duo!

Drake's another guy who has a closet full of jerseys from across the hockey spectrum, but it was really cool to see him wearing a SJHL Humboldt Broncos jersey in support of the hockey club following the tragedy that happened with the team. Classy move, Drake!

I wasn't aware that the guys from Five Finger Death Punch were such huge hockey fans, but it seems they are specifically huge Vegas Golden Knights fans! Ivan Moody, who is the lead singer for Five Finger Death Punch, has both a home jersey and a road jersey for the Golden Knights while bassist Chris Kael also has a home jersey and a road jersey with both customized with his own name and #74! Kael even goes one step further to support his hometown college team as he donned a University of Kentucky Wildcats jersey as well! Thanks to John M. for alerting me to Moody's jerseys!

I never thought I'd ever see this, but we have a new section to add in the list as Mick Ronson, guitarist for David Bowie, did some solo work for a short time. This is relevant because he wore a California Golden Seals sweater in one appearance!

I've never heard his music, but former PJHL Langley Knights player Levi De Waal used to not only play for the Knights, but would sing the anthems! He's since gone on to release some actual music, so that's pretty cool! For those asking, the PJHL is the Pacific Junior Hockey League, a Junior-B league operating in British Columbia, and the Langley Knights have since moved to Surry, BC to become the Surrey Knights.

Finally, on today's musical hockey tour, it's not a jersey, but it might be one of the more unique team-related items I've seen a musician receive while on tour. Alice Cooper, who is a big hockey fan, was in Rockford, Illinois where the AHL's Rockford IceHogs play. Alice took the stage in a Rockford Ice Hogs customized jacket! While it won't make the jersey list, this seems almost like the Columbus Blue Jackets' idea where they give customized robes to performers. Pretty cool, right?

If you head over to the main page with all the performers on it, you can peruse the teams and who has received a jersey from those teams. As always, if you have a picture of a musician who isn't listed on the main page, feel free to send it through to me! I'll give you credit for the find!

Enjoy the summer, folks. There may not be many concerts, but crank the tunes, enjoy the weather, and let's get ready for a busy fall schedule of concerts assuming everything starts getting back to normal!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!