Hayes, Brice, Moore, Eli Young Band Get Super Bowl Gigs

As Super Bowl weekend descends on the country this Sunday (Feb. 3), numerous artists will head to New Orleans to perform at various brand-sponsored events and other private events, including Hunter Hayes, Lee Brice and Eli Young Band.

Anheuser-Busch will host several concerts between Jan. 31 and Feb. 3 at a Bud Light-branded hotel in New Orleans that will feature Eli Young Band and Lee Brice, along with Stevie Wonder, Lil Wayne, Big Boi, Pitbull and Flo Rida.

The media attention surrounding such high-profile performances certainly doesn’t hurt, George Couri of Triple 8 Management tells Billboard. “Apart from people who are going to be at the event, Budweiser is going to put out their media machine, letting people know that Eli Young is doing this event with them at the Super Bowl,” Couri says. “Bud Light is obviously one of the biggest advertisers in the Super Bowl and their publicity machine is going to get the word out. That doesn’t hurt.”

Meanwhile, Pepsi has added performances by Hunter Hayes, along with Trombone Shorty and the Roots to an invite-only event at the Metairie Country Club.

Even performances directly outside of New Orleans get a boost from the Super Bowl festivities. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi’s Sr. VP of Marketing Vince Lentini says that the Super Bowl plays a role in booking artists for that particular weekend. Justin Moore will perform at the venue, located about 70 miles outside of New Orleans, on Feb. 1. “When we do Super Bowl, we typically try to book two acts that are going to appeal to potentially a slightly younger demographic,” Lentini says, citing the increase in attendance during Super Bowl weekend.