'NFL OPENING KICKOFF 2005' to Feature THE ROLLING STONES, GREEN DAY, SANTANA, MAROON 5 and KANYE WEST

    NEW YORK, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- THE ROLLING STONES will help start up
 the 2005 NFL season from their "A Bigger Bang" World Tour with the first
 performance footage of songs from their concert in Detroit as part of
 "NFL OPENING KICKOFF 2005" -- a one-hour pregame special on ABC at 8:00 PM ET
 Thursday, Sept. 8.  The show, which will feature live performances by GREEN
 DAY, SANTANA, TRISHA YEARWOOD, MAROON 5 and KANYE WEST, will lead into the
 season opener between the Patriots and Oakland Raiders at Gillette Stadium
 (ABC, 9:00 PM ET).
     The performances are part of a three-city football and music celebration
 of the NFL's "Road to Forty" season that will look back at the history of the
 Super Bowl, honor the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and down the
 road to Super Bowl XL, slated for Feb. 5, 2006 in Detroit on ABC.
     GREEN DAY and SANTANA will perform from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro,
 Massachusetts, while MAROON 5 and KANYE WEST will be outside the Los Angeles
 Coliseum, site of the first Super Bowl, as part of a free concert.  TRISHA
 YEARWOOD will perform the national anthem from Gillette Stadium where the show
 will be hosted by FREDDIE PRINZE JR. (star of new ABC show "Freddie").
     The show will feature footage of The Rolling Stones' performance in
 Detroit on August 31.  The "A Bigger Band" World Tour kicks off August 21 in
 Boston.
     For the second year, "NFL OPENING KICKOFF" will be executive produced by
 RICKY KIRSHNER and GLENN WEISS of White Cherry Entertainment.  Weiss also will
 serve as the show's director.  The pair has produced and directed shows for
 both broadcast and cable networks, including many acclaimed television
 specials, stadium spectaculars, and corporate events. Among their credits:
 Tony Awards; the July 4th Celebration in Boston; GQ Men of the Year Awards;
 30th annual Daytime Emmy Awards on ABC; GQ Men of the Year Awards; Vibe
 Awards; 2003 and 2004 Tournament of Roses Parade and the 2002 and 2003
 Thanksgiving Day Parades.
     Top tier sponsors for the event include Campbell's, Canon, Coors, Diet
 Pepsi, EA Sports and GMC.  Associate sponsors include Burger King, DMI,
 Gatorade, Motorola and Visa.
 
 

SOURCE  National Football League