CeCe Winans To Sing National Anthem For Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving

The Detroit Lions announced today that their 86^th annual Thanksgiving Day Classic on November 27 against the Green Bay Packers will feature electrifying singer and guitarist Jack White as part of the Thanksgiving Halftime Show powered by Verizon. Renowned gospel musician CeCe Winans will perform the national anthem. Additionally, the club will be supporting a donation-based initiative with Feeding America® that will be featured throughout the game. The Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Classic presented by Ford will be nationally televised on FOX at 1 PM EST.

ILLUSTRIOUS PERFORMANCES

Multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning artist and Detroit-native Jack White rose to international fame in the early 2000s, with his innovative guitar work and raw vocal style earning him critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base around the world. The solo artist and creative heartbeat of the legendary groups The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, White’s illustrious career was recently honored with his induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame on November 8.

Photo Credit: Hannah Corwin

The winner of 17 GRAMMY® Awards and 33 Dove Awards, music icon CeCe Winans will return to her hometown of Detroit to perform the national anthem. An inductee of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Winans is also the recipient of multiple Soul Train Awards, Essence Awards and NAACP Image Awards.

“I grew up in Detroit in a house with Mom, Dad, 7 brothers and 2 sisters.  Every Thanksgiving was all about Gratefulness to God, family, food and Football!! The Lions games were on all the time in our home.   The idea that my family and I are part of such a rich heritage of music flowing from our hometown is so amazing and we thank God every day.  I am so honored to come home and be a part of a very special Thanksgiving tradition.  It’s going to be awesome.”

OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE BACK TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY

For the first time, the Detroit Lions will partner with Feeding America and invite people watching at home to participate directly in the celebration of the holiday by making a monetary donation that will help ensure neighbors have access to the food they need to thrive. Viewers will be encouraged to text key word ‘TACKLE’ to 97955 to receive a link to the donation form. Nearly 50 million people in the U.S., including almost 14 million children, experience food insecurity. The Detroit Lions and Feeding America aim to raise enough funds to help provide 10 million meals to make sure every family can share the warmth, comfort and joy of a full table this holiday season. 

A PARTNERSHIP FOCUSED ON CONNECTION

Verizon is tackling food insecurity by giving fans the chance to pack hunger-relief kits outside of Ford Field on gameday. Volunteers race against the clock to pack donation bags faster than Verizon’s ultra-fast network. The high-energy activation will be in the Detroit Lions pregame tailgate space Pride Plaza on Brush Street, and open from 10 AM -1 PM.

ABOUT THE DETROIT LIONS

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL) and play their home games at Ford Field in downtown Detroit. The team was located to Detroit in 1934 and is the NFL's fifth oldest franchise. The Detroit Lions’ most recent NFL postseason appearance was the Divisional round after securing a back-to-back NFC North title following a franchise-high 15-2 record during the 2024 season. For more information, please visit www.detroitlions.com. 

ABOUT CECE WINANS
CeCe Winans, the best-selling and most-awarded female gospel artist is firmly established as one of the most accomplished and celebrated women in modern music history. Her illustrious career is marked by an impressive 17 GRAMMY Awards,33 Dove Awards, and 19 Stellar Awards. She has been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Nashville Music City Walk of Fame. Additionally, she has been honored as a Trailblazer of Soul by BMI and has received multiple NAACP Image Awards, Soul Train Awards, and Essence Awards. CeCe’s first live recording, Believe For It (Pure Springs Gospel/Fair Trade Services, LLC), exceeded all expectations, amassing over one billion U.S. streams. In 2023 alone, her entire catalog garnered over two billion impressions on YouTube. Her current album, More Than This, features the award-winning single “That’s My King,” already hailed as a Winans classic and “Come Jesus Come” is being touted as the next anthem that’s here to stay. The highly anticipated More Than This Tour is underway with most dates nearly sold out. Beyond music, CeCe and her husband, Alvin Love, are the founders of Nashville Life Church in Nashville, TN.

ABOUT JACK WHITE

Born and raised in Detroit as the youngest of 10 siblings, Jack White’s utilitarian approach filters through all his work, from self-producing his own music to the Third Man empire he founded, to his upholstery and various other art and design pursuits. Over a quarter century into his professional musical career, White’s ability to weave relevant, compelling, and poignant artistry into his music leaves him unparalleled.

When the White Stripes started in 1997 no one, least of all White, ever expected that a red, white and black two-piece band would take hold in the mainstream world. The band's self-titled debut and sophomore effort De Stijl amassed critical acclaim and built a passionate underground following, but it was the release of 2001’s White Blood Cells that thrust the White Stripes onto magazine covers as they captivated larger audiences through worldwide touring. “Fell in Love With a Girl” served as the band’s breakthrough hit and its accompanying Michel Gondry Lego clip was chosen by Pitchfork as the #1 music video of the 2000s. The release of Elephant in 2003 not only cemented the band’s reputation but also offered the #1 hit single “Seven Nation Army,” which has since been appropriated as arguably the most popular chant in sports stadiums around the world.

To date, White has won 12 GRAMMYs in eight different categories with 36 career nominations and was honored with the Producers & Engineers Wing “President’s Merit Award” in 2017. White formed a "new band of old friends," the Raconteurs, in 2006. Their debut album Broken Boy Soldiers featured the #1 hit single "Steady, As She Goes" and showed a markedly different side of White, one where songwriting, vocal and guitar duties were shared.  In 2021, THE WHITE STRIPES GREATEST HITS (Third Man Records/Legacy) made top 10 chart debuts around the world. On November 8, 2025, The White Stripes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

ABOUT FEEDING AMERICA

Feeding America is committed to an America where no one is hungry. We support tens of millions of people who experience food insecurity to get the food and resources they say they need to thrive as part of a nationwide network of food banks, statewide food bank associations, food pantries and meal programs. We also invest in innovative solutions to increase equitable access to nutritious food, advocate for legislation that improves food security and work to address factors that impact food security, such as health, cost of living and employment. We partner with people experiencing food insecurity, policymakers, organizations and supporters, united with them in a movement to end hunger. Visit FeedingAmerica.org to learn more.

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