NHL Announces Musical Performers for 2008 NHL All-Star Game

NHL Announces Musical Performers for 2008 NHL All-Star Game

Ne-Yo, The Hives To Headline All-Star Game Performers

NEW YORK, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- R&B singer/songwriter and five-time Grammy nominee Ne-Yo is among the musical artists slated to perform during the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta on Sunday, Jan. 27. (6 p.m., ET, VERSUS, CBC, RDS). Other performers include rock band The Hives, Canadian singer/songwriter Kathleen Edwards, the Atlanta Boy Choir and the Halftime Live marching band.

Ne-Yo will perform his Grammy-nominated single, "Because of You," with the Halftime Live marching band during the second-intermission of the All-Star Game. The Atlanta resident received a total of five nominations, including "Best Contemporary R&B Album" for his platinum debut Because of You (Def Jam), "Best R&B song" for "Hate That I Love You," his hit duet with Rihanna, and "Record of the Year" for co-writing and co-producing Beyonce's no. 1 single, "Irreplaceable." Ne-Yo also will perform at a private NHL party after the Dodge/NHL SuperSkills event on Saturday night.

The Hives will open the 56th NHL All-Star Game with a performance of their hit single "Tick Tick Boom." The Swedish rock band first gained popularity in its homeland, touring Sweden and Germany throughout the late 1990's. In 2001, they rose to prominence alongside fellow young rock bands The Strokes and White Stripes. Their 2001 release of the compilation album, Your New Favourite Band (Poptones), featured the hits "Supply And Demand," "Main Offender" and "Hate To Say I Told You So." Their 2004 follow-up, "Tyrannosaurus Hives" (Interscope) featured the UK hits "Walk Idiot Walk," "Two-Timing Touch & Broken Bones" and "A Little More For Little You." The band's current album, The Black and White Album (Interscope), includes tracks produced by Pharrell Williams.

The Atlanta Boy Choir will perform the U.S. National Anthem prior to the start of the All-Star Game. For more than 50 years, the Atlanta Boy Choir has performed great choral masterworks before U.S. Presidents, foreign dignitaries, crowned heads of state, U.S. soldiers, and millions of others around the world. The choir, which consists of boys representing various economic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, won a Grammy Award in 1989 for its performance of "Brittens' War Requiem" with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the late Robert Shaws.

Canadian alternative country singer/songwriter Kathleen Edwards will perform the Canadian National Anthem prior to the start of the NHL All-Star Game. Her 2003 debut album, Failer (Maple Music and Zoe/Rounder), featuring the hit singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates," received critical acclaim from Blender, New York Times and Rolling Stone, which declared her "one of year's most promising new acts." In 2005, she released her sophomore album, Back to Me (Zoe/Rounder), which again garnered considerable critical acclaim, and featured the singles "Back to Me" and "In State." The track, "Summerlong," was also featured on the soundtrack of the feature film, Elizabethtown, starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. She was nominated for Juno Awards for Songwriter of the Year and Adult Alternative Album of the Year for Back to Me in 2006. Edwards will release her third album, Asking For Flowers (Maple Music) on March 4.

The Atlanta-based marching band, Halftime Live, will take the ice with Ne-Yo during his second-intermission performance. With a 75-person crew of trained musicians and dancers, Halftime Live traces the heritage of the historically black college and university marching bands, mixing percussion instruments with intricate choreography, exciting costumes and stage effects.

The 2008 NHL All-Star Weekend in Atlanta will feature live broadcasts of Dodge/NHL SuperSkills on Saturday, Jan. 26 and the NHL All-Star Game on Sunday, Jan. 27 on VERSUS in the United States and CBC and RDS in Canada. NASN and other international broadcasters will provide live coverage of both Dodge/NHL SuperSkills and the NHL All-Star Game to more than 115 countries and territories in Europe. NHL RADIO on Westwood One will provide exclusive national radio coverage which can be heard on stations around the United States and Canada as well as on XM Satellite Radio's NHL Home Ice and NHL.com.

NHL is a registered trademark and the NHL Shield and NHL All Star Game logo are trademarks of the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved.

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Source: National Hockey League

CONTACT: Nirva Milord of National Hockey League, +1-212-789-2123

Web site:

http://www.nhl.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: For photos of the performers, visit www.image.net. Media will not be charged an editorial usage fee for images available on Image.net.

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