Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The 2026 MLB All-Star Game will feature a star-studded musical lineup with deep ties to Philadelphia.
- An R&B icon born and raised in the city will perform the national anthem before the game.
- The performance marks a homecoming for the artist and continues a tradition of Philly-connected talent at the Midsummer Classic.
The 2026 MLB All-Star Game will commence at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 14. While the game no longer determines home-field advantage in the World Series, that doesn't mean there aren't stakes involved: Despite being a glorified exhibition, the Midsummer Classic has become an American institution (not to mention an outlier among the major American sports in that the players involved show up and truly compete).
One of the tentpoles of summer deserves all the pomp and circumstance that money can buy. And that extends to the musical performances, as the league has lined up plenty of stars as the All-Star Game gets underway in Philly on Tuesday night. In keeping with the recent past, those stars will have a decidedly Philadelphia theme, starting with the star set to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before first pitch.
Who sang the national anthem at the 2026 All-Star Game?
It's hard to get more Philly than Patti Labelle herself. The R&B icon and two-time Grammy Award winner was born in Eastwick, in southwest Philadelphia, before attending John Bartram High School and later settling in Villanova. Though her career has taken her all around the world and back at this point, but she remains indelibly connected to the city that raised her.
She also has remained connected to its sports teams. When the Phillies made the World Series back in 2008, Labelle was there to sing the national anthem before Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays. MLB could hardly have done better here, between Labelle's pipes, cultural status and Philly bonafides.
But the entertainment on offer at the All-Star Game this year goes well beyond just the anthem. Pennsylvania native and long-time Phillies fan Miles Teller will narrate a tribute video celebrating baseball's place in the American fabric, while Philly icons Boyz II Men will perform during the Stand Up to Cancer segment during the seventh-inning stretch.
Who sang America the Beautiful at the 2026 MLB All-Star Game?
Unlike Labelle, Jennifer Hudson doesn't have any real connection to Philadelphia; she was born and raised in Chicago before winning fans around the country as a contestant on American Idol. But she's in many ways one of the heirs to Labelle's soulful legacy — she's even cited Labelle as one of her primary influences — so there's a certain poetic justice in Hudson singing "America the Beautiful" at the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday night.
Hudson's rendition will open the pregame festivities, where she'll be accompanied by the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife & Drum Corps with orchestral support from the Philly Pops. She'll then be followed by Labelle's version of the national anthem, before the All-Star Game gets underway in celebration of America's 250th birthday.
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