A NIGHT AMERICA WILL NEVER FORGET: TEN LEGENDS UNITE FOR “THE ALL-AMERICAN HALFTIME SHOW” IN A HISTORIC CELEBRATION OF FAITH, FAMILY, AND FREEDOM
By Madison Clarke | Nashville Ledger | Nashville, TN — October 19, 2025
NASHVILLE — It’s the kind of announcement that feels larger than music itself — the kind that makes history stop and listen. In what’s already being called the most anticipated live event in decades, ten of country music’s greatest legends are uniting for one extraordinary performance: “The All-American Halftime Show.”
Set to air opposite Super Bowl 60’s halftime broadcast, this groundbreaking event will feature an all-star lineup of icons: Alan Jackson, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, George Strait, Vince Gill, Carrie Underwood, Brooks & Dunn, Garth Brooks, and Trisha Yearwood — ten voices, ten lifetimes of song, one nation brought together under the same melody.
Announced live from Nashville, Tennessee, the event is being produced by Erika Kirk, widow of the late Charlie Kirk, as a living tribute to her husband’s vision — one deeply rooted in faith, family, and freedom.
“Charlie believed America’s greatest strength was its heart,” Erika said during the announcement at the historic Ryman Auditorium. “He believed that music — honest, humble, hopeful music — could remind us of who we are. This show is about carrying that belief forward.”
The All-American Halftime Show will broadcast from Nissan Stadium, transforming it into a living canvas of American pride. The stage design, inspired by small-town churches and open-country landscapes, will feature more than 2,000 feet of LED projection, a live orchestra, and a 250-member gospel choir drawn from churches across the South.
While most halftime productions chase spectacle, this one promises something deeper — soul. Each artist will perform not just their greatest hits, but also songs of unity, remembrance, and revival.
Alan Jackson is slated to open the night with a medley of “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” and “America the Beautiful.”
Carrie Underwood will follow with “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” joined by a children’s choir from Nashville’s Covenant School.
Willie Nelson and Vince Gill will share the stage for “He Won’t Ever Be Gone,” dedicated to the late Charlie Kirk and “all who keep the faith.”
George Strait will deliver “The Cowboy Rides Away,” reimagined with orchestral strings and panoramic drone lights sweeping across the Tennessee skyline.
And to close the night, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, and Trisha Yearwood will lead all ten artists in a grand finale performance of a brand-new anthem titled “One Nation Under Song.”
“Music has always been our greatest storyteller,” said Garth Brooks in a video statement. “It reminds us that even when times are tough, the melody still carries us forward. That’s what this night is about — hope, harmony, and home.”
The production has drawn comparisons to patriotic spectacles of earlier eras — but with a distinctly personal tone. Industry insiders describe the event as “half revival, half reunion, and entirely American.”
Behind the scenes, the show’s purpose runs deeper than ratings. Proceeds from the broadcast will benefit the Charlie Kirk Foundation for American Families, funding scholarships, veteran support initiatives, and faith-based community programs nationwide.
“This isn’t just entertainment,” Erika Kirk said. “It’s a message to the country Charlie loved — that unity isn’t a myth, that faith still matters, and that freedom, once sung about, never fades.”
The anticipation has been electric. Within hours of the announcement, hashtags like #AllAmericanHalftime and #OneNationUnderSong began trending globally. Country radio stations across the South have already announced special programming leading up to the event, while major networks are reportedly preparing simultaneous coverage.
Dolly Parton, ever the poet of the people, summed it up best:
“There’s a lot of noise in the world these days. But on that night, for a little while, we’re all gonna be singing the same song.”
And perhaps that’s the quiet power of this moment — not in its scale, but in its spirit. It’s not about who stands on stage, but what they stand for. Ten legends, each from different corners of the country, bound together by a belief that music still heals, still unites, still speaks to the American soul.
When the lights rise and the first chords echo across Nashville, it won’t just be another halftime show. It will be a national hymn — sung not to the crowd, but to the country itself.
Because on that night, beneath the red, white, and blue, America will do what it has always done best:
Raise its voice, lift its heart, and sing its story home.