Sunday 29 May 2022

Summer Concert Season

As we get closer to June, it's very likely that the outdoor concert season will begin in North America with various festivals and outdoor venues being populated for musical events once again. I'm already aware of a couple of events that will happen locally near me, so expect to see and hear musicians of all genres announcing events and appearances soon if they haven't already. What shouldn't be forgotten is that arenas have been open to crowds for some time, so that means we've already seen musicians and musical acts roll through cities as those artists got a jump on the concert tour schedule. In saying that, HBIC brings you yet another edition of Musicians in Jerseys with the full image gallery linked here.

The rules for this exercise remain the same: jerseys must be held or worn by an artist or group for the picture to qualify. I have seen lots of jerseys that were made for artists that were photographed on their own, and those don't count because the artist has to acknowledge the jersey's existence rather than just being collected by a stagehand. T-shirts, jackets, golf shirts, and ballcaps don't count either - jerseys are the only clothing that do count unless it's some extremely weird occurrence.

Let's dig into this because the last year of touring will make this a fairly robust entry!

We'll start in Glendale where the Arizona Coyotes were handing out jerseys. Country pop duo Dan + Shay got jerseys of their own. Snoop Dogg is officially part of the Coyotes now as he has both logos the Coyotes use. Ice Cube has his own jersey. And Warren G got a jersey as well. It will be interesting to see if any of these artists play in ASU's new arena in the coming years, but I can't see any of them playing to just 5000 people.

Panic! at the Disco stopped by the Honda Center prior to the pandemic and picked up a few Anaheim Ducks jerseys before their concert.

The Chainsmokers invaded Buffalo with their brand of EDM-pop which earned them a couple of Buffalo Sabres jerseys and a meeting with Jack Eichel. Chris Janson is an American country music singer from Missouri, but he also got a Sabres jersey with an appearance in Buffalo. The Foo Fighters picked up some Sabres jerseys in pre-pandemic times. I'm unfamiliar with rapper Jake Miller's music, but the Sabres were happy to have him wearing their colours.

It would be an honour to have Erikah Badu wear my logo, so the Chicago Blackhawks should be honoured by her having their jersey. Kane Brown is a country-pop singer who got himself a framed jersey from the Blackhawks. Durk Banks is better known by his rapper name Lil Durk, and he got a Blackhawks jersey during a stop at the United Center. Rapper Nas also came through Chicago and earned a Blackhawks jersey. We already knew Billy Corgan was a Blackhawks fan, but he brought the rest of Smashing Pumpkins with him this time. Country singer Thomas Rhett Akins is part of the Blackhawks musical acts. And R&B singer Trey Songz can add his name to the Blackhawks roster as well.

DJ and EDM/hip-hop artist Eloq showed up for a concert event in Denver sporting a Cale Makar Avalanche jersey. And we can cross another team off Taylor Swift's NHL jersey list as she adds the Avalanche to her closet as well.

The Blue Jackets were an interesting case because they used to hand out customized robes to musicians to relax in after their shows, but they've now started giving out jerseys, it seems. That's because Ed Sheeran was in one, Fallout Boy got their own jerseys, and Twenty One Pilots wore a jersey of their hometown team at concert.

The Dallas Stars added One Direction to their musical talent, and followed that up by having Jamie Benn deliver Snoop Dogg his own jersey.

The Detroit Red Wings got some Uptown Funk thanks to Bruno Mars. Former Red Wings great Pavel Datsyuk played host to Mike Posner and Big Sean on a collaboration they did together as well.

Thomas Rhett Akins was touring at some point because he landed in Sunrise where the Florida Panthers welcomed him. And for the second time on these lists, Mexican musician Marco Antonio SolĂ­s makes an appearance as the Panthers welcomed him as well!

Los Angeles is always a popular tour stop for bands, and Harry Styles made sure to wow his crowd in a Kings jersey. Rapper Conway the Machine was spotted wearing a retro Kings jersey as well!

Thomas Rhett Akins is building himself a nice closet of hockey jerseys as he added a Minnesota Wild jersey at some point. The Wild also added some clothing for Shawn Mendes during his stop. Shania Twain got herself a Wild jersey. Luke Combs added a Wild jersey to his wardrobe. American R&B singer Khalid is on the Wild roster. John Mayer made a pre-pandemic stop for a Wild jersey at the Xcel Energy Center. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill each got their own Wild jerseys during a stop. Chris Stapleton added another Wild jersey to the country music ranks. All the members of Bon Jovi got their own Wild jerseys. And in a weird twist, both Chaka Khan and Stevie Wonder were given jerseys with Prince's name and symbol on them.

The Montreal Canadiens welcomed My Chemical Romance to the Centre Bell, and Puff Daddy/P. Diddy/Sean Combs was wearing the bleu-blanc-et-rouge before it was cool!

Nashville has a reputation as "the Music City", so it's no surprise that the Backstreet Boys stopped at Bridgestone Arena and got Predators jerseys a while back. American contemporary Christian music band MercyMe received a Predators jersey during their stop. Heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch lead singer Ivan Moody repped the Predators in their concert. Mumford and Sons received their Predators jerseys during their stop. Country music band Midland brought out the Smashville jerseys during their stop in Nashville. There should be no surprise that Thomas Rhett Akins is back in another jersey. Pat Monahan of Train was decked out in Predators yellow. And the Zac Brown Band received Predators jerseys for the entire band!

The New Jersey Devils welcomed Bow Wow to the Prudential Center on his tour.

Mark LaBelle is doing the vocals for Dirty Honey while wearing guitarist Henrik Lundqvist's New York Rangers jersey during a recent set in the Big Apple.

Khalid picks up his second jersey on this list as he made a stop at Wells Fargo Arena where the Flyers decked him out in orange-and-black.

The Pittsburgh Penguins saw Panic! at the Disco's Brendon Urie wearing their colours while Ed Sheeran donned a Penguins jersey during a recent concert at PPG Paints Arena.

We'll jump back to the 1990s when both the San Jose Sharks were the tops in merchandise sales and SWV - Sisters With Voices - were at the top of the charts. Why not combine the two?

The Kraken have been adding musical talent all season long. Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie donned the Kraken jersey. Rapper Jack Harlow is a Kraken fan. 11 year-old Nikhil Bagga was born and raised in Kraken country. You can laugh about this artist, but Shaquille O'Neal's rap career produced at least four albums for the new Kraken fan. And while he may own a portion of the team, there's no denying that Macklemore is a fan of the Kraken in all its colours.

The Enterprise Center played host to Bow Wow who got himself a St. Louis Blues jersey!

The Maple Leafs had a few bands roll through Scotiabank Arena since it opened. My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way picked up a Leafs jersey during their stop. Sandy Beales of One Direction also has a Leafs jersey. And the Barenaked Ladies cheered on their home team in their own Leafs jerseys before a game!

The Vancouver Canucks can add Chris Stapleton to their musical roster while Ariana Grande picked up a jersey a while back during her stop!

The Vegas Golden Knights jumped on the K-Pop train when they gave Suga from BTS a jersey while he was at T-Mobile Arena. They also saw rapper Desiigner join the kingdom, and rapper Lil Jon completed his home-road set with a white Golden Knights jersey.

Dierks Bentley played the 2016 NHL All-Star Game in a jersey, and both Jon Jones and the Eli Young Band were in attendance for that Nashville All-Star Game in jerseys as well. Drake gets his second entry in the All-Star Game section after he wore a 1980-81 NHL All-Star Game jersey with Gretzky on it!

Scottish-born Canadian tenor John McDermott sported a Team Canada jersey in an appearance while Snoop Dogg wore a Tampere Ilves jersey during a concert!

Dean Brody picked up a new Manitoba Moose jersey after a stop in Winnipeg, Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg grabbed a customized Moose jersey during his stop, and the Foo Fighters received older Moose jerseys when they stopped in the Manitoba capital many moons ago. JoJo Siwa stopped in Bridgeport where she received a bedazzled Sound Tigers jersey, and followed that up with a stop in Syracuse where the Crunch gave her a Crunch Pride jersey! Papa Roach found himself in a Rocket jersey during his stop in Laval, Quebec!

Macklemore shows up with some more Seattle hockey gear as he's seen sporting a WHL Seattle Thunderbirds jersey!

JoJo Siwa earned herself a University of North Dakota jersey after stopping in that state to entertain her fans there!

Finally, Snoop Dogg will close this article out with an appearance in an IHL Long Beach Ice Dogs jersey from a few decades ago.

As you know, this isn't a one-man operation. Any and all images you collect from concerts, in the general public's eye, or from where ever you may discover them where a musician is wearing a hockey jersey, feel free to send those photos to me and I'll credit you accordingly for the find!

Enjoy the music this summer, folks, and have fun at any and all concerts you attend!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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