INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana icon will help kick off the Indianapolis Colts season at Lucas Oil Stadium in September.
Colts owner Jim Irsay announced Monday Hoosier rocker John Mellencamp will perform at the Colts Kickoff Concert at Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday, Sept. 8. The concert will feature The Jim Irsay Band & The Jim Irsay Collection.
"It will be a legendary and FREE night," Irsay wrote on X Monday afternoon.
Mellencamp wrapped up his "Live and In Person 2023" tour in South Bend in June and will perform at Farm Aid at Ruoff Music Center on Sept. 23.
The event is free for the public, but guests needed to sign up for tickets. The Colts announced Monday that the event was "sold out."
Also at the show, magician Criss Angel will attempt to break Harry Houdini's record by trying to escape from a straitjacket while suspended 150 feet over the stadium.
Should the magician have trouble, Irsay has a backup plan.
"If all else fails on Criss Angel’s World Record Jump…Quenton Nelson will catch him at the last second," he wrote.
Angel performed the high-altitude escape in an NFL stadium before, wriggling out of a straitjacket at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas before a Bears-Raiders game in 2021. It took Angel a little more than 20 seconds to make that escape.
The night includes a performance by The Jim Irsay Band, with the Colts owner featured on vocals, backed by a team of musicians who have played with some of the biggest names in music:
- Kenny Aronoff, drums (Paul McCartney, John Mellencamp, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan)
- Billy Branch, harmonica (three-time Grammy nominee)
- Tom Bukovac, guitar (played on more than 700 albums with major artists)
- Mike Mills, bass & vocals (founding member of R.E.M.)
- Danny Nucci, guitar, saxophone & vocals (actor, "Titanic," "The Roc"k)
- Michael Ramos, keyboards (Mellencamp, Patti Griffin, Paul Simon)
- Carmella Ramsey, violin, mandolin & vocals (Reba McEntire, John Hiatt, Olivia Newton-John)
- Kenny Wayne Shepherd, guitar & vocals (five-time Grammy nominee)
- Mike Wanchic, guitar (Mellencamp)
The show will also include performances by special guests Stephen Stills (Crosby, Stills & Nash), Ann Wilson (Heart) and Peter Wolf (J. Geils Band).
"This is our chance to say thank you to Colts fans and to give everyone a night of togetherness and great music," Irsay said in a news release. "This is also our way of celebrating and giving back to the arts, which provide so much to us as a society and as human beings."