Saturday 24 September 2022

Summer Music Jersey Collection

While the pandemic is far from over, it has quieted somewhat thanks to vaccinations and general cautiousness among the mass of humanity. Because of this, venues began opening their doors once again, musicians loaded up buses with their gear, and we had live music this summer for the first time in what felt like a long time! I'll be honest in telling you that I didn't attend a concert personally, but that's not something I do regularly as it is. That didn't stop any musicians or bands from touring, though, and that means hockey jerseys were en vogue once again for musicians to wear! Who was wearing your favorite team? Let's find out in this edition of Musician In Jerseys!

I linked the database of images above, but there have been a lot of musicians who have already appeared in jerseys at some point in their respective careers. We're adding a pile of new images today, so bear with me as we work through each team's roster of musicians - both current and historical - who have worn or held a jersey for a photo. If you want to submit a musician in a jersey, fire it over to me and I'll add it to the next round of musicians who have taken home a hockey jersey! Check the database, though, because there are a ton of duplicates that I receive!

Alphabetically, we start with the Anaheim Ducks. Machine Gun Kelly picked up a Ducks alternate jersey. Five For Fighting is technically the name that John Ondrasik goes by as a performer, so his touring band doesn't get much publicity when it comes to who is playing behind him. There's nothing wrong with that arrangement, of course, but it makes it harder to identify musicians such as his guitarist who wore a Ducks jersey and his drummer who wore a Ducks jersey at the Stadium Series game in 2014. I suspect the drummer may be Randy Cooke, but I have no idea who the guitarist is. Friends of the blog, if you know, you get full credit. Send me the details if you know!

The relocated Atlanta Thrashers don't have many musicians who wore their jerseys, but The Flaming Lips bassist Michael Ivins was one of them. Like the Thrashers who left Atlanta, Ivins has also left The Flaming Lips as of August 20, 2021 for reasons not yet disclosed. In both cases, fans deserve better than a team or a band member walking away despite both likely having good reasons to do so.

The Buffalo Sabres played in the 2018 Winter Classic at Citi Field against the New York Rangers, and they got a special visit from the Goo Goo Dolls who were founded in Buffalo in 1986! Perhaps they are true hometown fans of the Sabres being from Buffalo? Seems like that might be the case!

Alphabetically, the Calgary Flames are the first team to have multiple musicians show up in their threads. We'll start with the Backstreet Boys who are on another world tour despite not being boys nor being from any sort of "back street" in two decades. Country singer George Canyon performed the anthem before a Flames game. And at the recent Canadian Country Music Awards show, Canadian country music star Jojo Mason not only showed up in a Flames jersey with new star Jonathan Huberdeau, but his jersey was a Huberdeau jersey! The Flames have a new a new fan in Regina-born Jojo Mason, it seems!

Rapper Rapsody, born in North Carolina, went with the Carolina Hurricanes for her photo alongside Remy Ma for their collaboration. The Backstreet Boys were also in Raleigh, North Carolina during their world tour. I wonder if they came home with more clothes than with which they started? It seems like it could be possible at this point.

The Chicago Blackhawks helped the Backstreet Boys out in the past with more clothes, but it seems that Kevin Richardson had a white jersey given to him at some point while Howie Dorough received a red jersey for his intermission shooting skills. Speaking of shooting skills, Rick Neilsen of Cheap Trick took a shot, drummer Mince Fratelli of The Fratellis fired pucks, bass guitarist Barry Fratelli tried to hit the targets, and the Brothers Osborne actually scored on one of their attempts! SWV's Leanne "Lelee" Lyons was in Blackhawks red in the linked photo. And in perhaps the most iconic photo in this set of Blackhawks fans is Anna-Frid Lyngstad of ABBA wearing the red Blackhawks jersey!

The Dallas Stars have had a few key people come through American Airlines Center who left with a jersey. Among them are country music legend George Strait, Lukas Forchhammer of Danish pop band Lukas Graham, and Canadian crooner Michael Bublé, compliments of Blair F., who all came out with Victory Green jerseys! Bublé, it should be noted, now has two Dallas Stars jerseys of two different designs!

The Detroit Red Wings make an appearance today as they have a few musical fans. They include Jon Bon Jovi, and both Joe Elliott and Phil Collen of Def Leppard. He's already part of their list in Detroit's white jersey, but Kid Rock is back in the red jersey as well.

It nearly took a forensic investigation, but I believe the man in the Oilers jersey from a 2009 game against Columbus is Haymaker's Aaron "Justice" Simpson. I say that mainly because his Facebook page has Connor McDavid featured prominently. American country music star Hardy showed his Oilers colours. Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo sang the anthem prior to a game in 2007. Nova Scotia-born Natalie MacMaster showed off her fiddle skills by performing the anthems prior to a game in 2010.

The Los Angeles Kings have a pile of musical fans, but none might be bigger than Five For Fighting's John Ondrasik who has a Robitaille black-and-purple jersey and a black jersey (which he may have been wearing when he met Wayne Gretzky!). Zakk Wylde, lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, played the US national anthems on opening night in 2005. Latino musician Virlan Garcia appears to be a fan of the Kings. Stone Temple Pilots singer Jeff Gutt belts out the anthem prior to a 2018 game. The Eagles' Glenn Frey wore a Gene Carr jersey on-stage in some concerts, and there was a good reason for it as the two were close friends! Ciara sported a Kings jersey as she filmed a music video as well!

This had to be included: He wasn't part of the Bee Gees, but youngest Gibb brother Andy Gibb wore a Minnesota North Stars jersey!

Soul Asylum was invited to perform at the 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild where lead singer Dave Pirner wore a Minnesota Wild jersey!

The Canadiens saw Annakin Slayd sport their 1909-10 centennial jersey alongside Habs celebrity superfan Jay Baruchel. Old Dominion's Trevor Rosen has his own personalized jersey he wore in a recent concert. Australian rapper The Kid Laroi wore a Montreal jersey during a performance, and the Backstreet Boys also added some more clothes to their closets, but it seems like Kevin Richardson may have already had a jersey?

Calgary-born country-pop singer Lindsay Ell took the stage in a Nashville Stadium Series jersey. Madison Marlow and Taylor Dye of the group Maddie and Tae had their pictures taken with the Stanley Cup in 2018. Country music legends The Oak Ridge Boys performed the anthem prior to a 2018 game.

The New Jersey Devils invited Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles out to perform the anthem prior to a 2010 game, and they also had Wyclef Jean out in 2019 to drop a ceremonial first puck! He's been mentioned a few times already, but Machine Gun Kelly also acquired a Devils jersey at some point in his career.

It's not a jersey, but it was hard to miss Twenty One Pilots' Josh Dun very clearly wearing the logo of the New York Islanders.

The New York Rangers found a new fan in Luisana Lopilato as the former member of pop-rock band Erreway participated in a series of challenges against her husband, Michael Bublé. Phil Collins is already entrenched as a Rangers fan, but he wore a second Rangers jersey with the shield logo in this photo! Like Collins, Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, was also added to the Rangers' fanbase in a blue jersey, but here he is in a white Rangers jersey as well! I didn't think Sting would be a Rangers fan, but apparently he is. Drummer Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies accepted an award in New York City in 2001 and showed the local team some love. Cheryl "Koko" Gamble was representing her hometown in NYR blue. While she is likely better known for her acting, Zendaya has released a number of singles and at least one album in her career! Rapper Remy Ma broke out the hometown Rangers' blue jersey for her collaboration with Rapsody. Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys wore the blue Rangers jersey during an anthem performance.

Trooper's Ra McGuire entertained fans prior to the Stanley Cup Final game in Ottawa in 2007.

The Philadelphia Flyers can add both Method Man and Phil Collins to their fanbase.

The Arizona Coyotes had a couple of musicians join them in performing the anthems as Laura Walsh had the honour in 2017 while Jordin Sparks sang at a 2011 game when the team was still the Phoenix Coyotes!

The late Mac Miller was a big Pittsburgh Penguins fan as he wore the robo-Penguin jersey and the diagonal-name jersey at times, and Michael Bublé was in Pittsburgh for a concert where he wore the reverse retro Penguins jersey. Tamara "Taj" Johnson also sports a diagonal-name jersey in the SWV photo. AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys performed the anthem in a Penguins jersey.

I don't know if Machine Gun Kelly is a big fan of bedazzling, but it would seem someone got a little carried away on his Seattle Kraken jersey.

The St. Louis Blues had Echosmith perform before Game Three of the Stanley Cup Final in 2019, and singer Sydney Sierota donned a Blues jersey. Post Malone's recent tour stop in St. Louis saw him go home with a jersey and bruised ribs after he fell through the stage. Mike Levine from Triumph was a Blues fan back in his era. Michael Bublé recently picked up a St. Louis Blues jersey while stopping there. And Machine Gun Kelly added a Blues jersey to his growing collection of jerseys as well!

Did Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys bring his own Tampa Bay Lightning jersey or did he get a new one when he joined his bandmates in the Backstreet Boys for a performance of the anthem?

We have a pile of reader submissions coming for the Maple Leafs. "PhotoBlair" had this side profile of Queen's Freddie Mercury. Mick K. sent in the late Tiny Tim in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. Jim S. found The Band's Robbie Robertson wearing Maple Leafs colours. Mike Levine of Triumph shows up in a Maple Leafs jersey in the picture sent by Steve K. Rob D.'s image of Linda Ronstadt in Maple Leafs colours is astounding. Steve C. had a newspaper clipping of Jimmy Buffett in a Maple Leafs jersey. Gordon Lightfoot wore his Maple Leafs jersey with the hosts of Sportsnet's Hometown Hockey. Glenn Frey showed his range of jerseys by appearing in a blue Leafs jersey after previously being seen in a white Leafs jersey. Matt D. dug up this beauty image of Rush's Geddy Lee in a Maple Leafs jersey. Benny Andersson of ABBA wore a customized jersey at a concert while Greig D. found an image from a Swedish newspaper of ABBA in Maple Leafs jerseys. It appears that Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys wore a Maple Leafs jersey for an anthem performance. And late rapper Mac Miller wore a Maple Leafs jersey in concert as well!

The Backstreet Boys stopped off in Vancouver where the Canucks contributed to their clothing haul on their tour. Machine Gun Kelly got himself a Canucks jersey on his stop in Vancouver. LANY lead singer Paul Jason Klein also endeared himself to Vancouver fans by donning the Canucks' colours. In their video, rap duo Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz donned hockey jerseys with Gunz opting for a Canucks jersey!

The Vegas Golden Knights always seem to be welcoming musical guests to their arena as Imagine Dragons were outfitted with jerseys while Motley Crue's Vince Neil has a Golden Knights jersey as well!

Just one entry for the Washington Capitals on this concert review, and that's Michael Bublé wearing the jersey of his friend, Karl Alzner, at a concert!

The Winnipeg Jets have a single entry as well, but it appears that Diplo is a Josh Morrissey fan based on that number!

A couple of All-Star Game updates include Aaron Lewis of Staind and John Hiatt both playing at the 2016 All-Star Game in Nashville.

Internationally speaking, Bjoern Dixgard and Patrik Heikinpieti, members of the Swedish Rock band Mando Diao, were at the DEL game on November 23, 2014 in Düsseldorf, Germany where they received Düsseldorf EG jerseys. Irish pop group Westlife showed their allegiances by supporting the Belfast Giants. Paul Baloff of Exodus was on stage in a Soviet Union CCCP jersey. It isn't often Michael Bublé is the lesser of two stars in a photo, but here he is with former NHL star Jochen Hecht after receiving a Mannheim Eagles jersey. Bublé makes a second appearance in the international section after sporting a Dubai Mighty Camels jersey. And he makes a third appearance in a Team Canada jersey as well! Linkin Park received a singular jersey for the band from the Eisbaeren Berlin in Berlin, Germany. As mentioned above, rap duo Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz donned hockey jerseys with Lord Tariq sporting the Team USA threads!

A couple of major junior hockey teams got boosts from celebrity fans. For those that don't know, Michael Bublé is a minority owner in the Vancouver Giants where he received a black Giants jersey upon completing the purchase of his share of the team. He's since added a personalized white jersey and has worn an alternate jersey as he helped clean up teddy bears on Teddy Bear Toss Night as well! Papa Roach got himself a USHL Omaha Lancers jersey after a stop in Nebraska. Brett Kissel showed his support for the OHL Bulldogs during a stop in Hamilton!

A few musicians were lucky enough to receive university jerseys. DJ and beatmaker Metro Boomin got his hands on an NCAA Bentley University Falcons jersey while rapper Iggy Azalea received her own NCAA University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks jersey as per the images John M. sent!

As for other jerseys, the Barenaked Ladies received jerseys from the ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators when the band played in Atlanta. The late Mac Miller performed in a Mighty Ducks jersey from the Disney movie. And in one of the coolest jerseys I've seen from the 1970s, Tony Banks of Genesis wore a WHA Houston Aeros jersey at some point!

That was quite the set of concerts had we seen all of these bands and musicians play this season, but the amount of jerseys given away by hockey teams to musicians is rather ridiculous. I guess free publicity helps the hockey teams while the bands and musicians get some free gear - win-win in the highest sense, I guess.

In any case, feel free to check out all the teams and jerseys on the Musician in Jerseys database I've been keeping! There are a ton of free jerseys shown there! And if you have photos of musicians that I don't have in the database, follow the instructions at the top of this article to get them added!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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