by Sean Reiter
A week of Super Bowl festivities throughout San Francisco and the greater Bay Area came to a pre-game close with the Bay Area Host Committee presenting Saturday night’s concert at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium– starring Chris Stapleton, Sierra Farrell and some elite NFL company.
The red carpet parade pre-concert hosted NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, Bay Area power couple George and Claire Kittle, Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawerence and NBA Hall of Famer (and 4-time Olympic medalist) Carmelo Anthony. The Kittles created quite a roar as they entered the bowl of the arena for the show. Though needing crutches as he continues to recover from his season-ending January achilles injury, Kittle still had a wide smile as he pumped up the crowd.
Kittle and Manning were also the hit of the red carpet earlier – engaging at length with reporters. Manning recounted the time that he came up on stage to perform with Chris Stapleton in Nashville and hilariously resisted NBC Sports Bay Area’s Laura Britt’s attempts to get him to warm up just in case. Claire Kittle let us know that “Tennessee Whiskey” was her favorite Stapleton song while George lamented that Claire would mandate the Super Bowl be on tv in their home but professed that he would likely play video games while it was going.
Inside, Sierra Farrell warmed up the crowd with a fantastic set delivered in a magical stage setting. For the many uninitiated, Farrell wowed the audience with her energy and unique blending of bluegrass, folk and other worldy music. The West Viginian always presents a compelling visual performance to match up with her music and Saturday saw a stage that was decked out in flower and plant arrangements – creating a stage intimacy and clear spotlight on Farrell and her band who were decked out in matching beige pants, white shirts and straw hats.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has consistently leaned into the arts as a key component of the turnaround of San Francisco’s reputation – showing up at events such as Dead & Company’s three-night run at Golden Gate Park and recently speaking at the celebration of Bobby Weir in Civic Center Plaza. Saaturday night, he thanked the Bay Area Host Committee and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (who was in attendance at the concert) and pointed out that no one should ever count San Francisco out. the warm crowd reaction that Lurie brings is in direct conflict with so much of the disastrous disconnect on continual display between so many other politicians and the citizenry they are supposed to represent.
Chris Stapleton took to a stage-setting much less densely furnished, but full of talent and compelling songs. Stapleton has crossed over into the level of filling stadiums and amphitheaters throughout the country and the crowd was obviously thrilled at the opportunity to catch him in a smaller setting. Up close for the first few songs, it was heartwarming to see the way that Stapleton and his wife (and backup singer) Morgane were continually looking at each other with smiles. Stapleton seemed to sweetly perform the concert for both the crowd and Morgane. Stapleton and his band kicked off the set with a thunderous “Bad as I Used to Be” that was met with a very enthusiastic response that belied any private-event like vibe that may have been present and set the tone for a triumphant final night before Sunday’s big game.
