I watched the video. Low and behold, a pedal harpist was right there on the football field, accompanying the singer. After some Google searches, I discovered that the harpist was Gracie Sprout!

I emailed Gracie, and here’s part of our email thread.

I'm pleased to report that Gracie agreed, and you can read her article below.

-- Sylvia

P.S. In 2017 I gave concerts at two libraries here on Kauai. At the end of each show, I presented a mini "I've Always Wanted to Play the Harp" workshop. Tom Woods (my ex-husband) helped me transport ten harps to each event. It worked out perfectly because exactly 20 people at each event raised their hands to say they wanted to try the harp. So I taught "Twinkle, Twinkle" to two groups of ten at each library. Several participants eventually became students of mine. And one, Charlotte Turner, is now one of my best friends. She also helps me edit this newsletter once a month. (Thank you, Charlotte!)

On February 13th, 2022, I had the experience of a lifetime playing harp at the Super Bowl with singer Jhené Aiko. Our rendition of America the Beautiful was only about two minutes long, but the preparation for those two minutes was more than two weeks. This included working out the arrangement, choosing my wardrobe, rehearsing, and getting my harp to the stadium.

Our band met up weeks before the performance to work out the arrangement. Jhené was very hands-on with what she wanted it to sound like, and we all jammed and played it several different ways until we got it to what you heard on TV. They initially told us that the band would not be on the field. I figured I would just record my part and watch it from home. To my surprise, I received a call from Jhené’s management telling me I would be playing with Jhené on the field! I was out at lunch at the time, so I must have confused my friend as I exclaimed, “What? Really? Are you sure?”

The next week was dedicated to rehearsals and wardrobe. Jhené and I got together several times before the game to rehearse. We even practiced with a YouTube video of sports crowd noises on the TV to simulate performing in front of all of those people. We also met with Jhené’s stylists, who helped find our outfits for the performance. Some of the clothes they chose for me were really cute, but not exactly harp-friendly. After I explained that I needed to have a longer dress that wouldn’t be revealing when I sat behind the harp, they had a better idea of what to bring for me. The stylists were so sweet and excited to style their first harpist. Once Jhené chose her dress, we decided on the dress you saw me wearing on the field.

To get my harp to the stadium, the backline company (CenterStaging) came to my house the Thursday before the game in a semi-truck to pick up my harp. I put my 100-year-old harp in its wooden harp crate to ensure it was safe in the truck. After a few jokes from the movers about it being a coffin with a vampire inside and making them promise to guard it with their own lives, my harp was loaded onto the truck and made its way to SoFi stadium.

On Friday, we had our tech rehearsal at SoFi stadium. We ran the entire Pre-Show several times to practice the performance, camera blocking, and how we would get on and off the field. The rehearsal helped calm my nerves a little, but the stadium was completely different on game day when it was full of people.

The day of the performance went so fast. A makeup artist came to my house at 6 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday to make sure I was camera ready. I arrived at the stadium around 10 a.m. to go through security and COVID screening. I put on my dress, was escorted onto the field, and suddenly I was performing America the Beautiful in front of millions of people. It felt like a dream. After we finished playing, Jhené was escorted off the field, but I had to stay seated behind my harp on my platform until the end of the Pre-Show. When it was over, a team of people came and guided the platform with me and my harp on it across the field like a parade float to the loading dock, where I helped them put the harp back in the crate. My harp was delivered back to my house that Monday, just in time for me to take it to my Valentine’s gig.

I’m so proud to have represented the harp community on such an epic stage. I hope this inspires more people to play the harp and for the harp to be featured in more shows like this. Next Super Bowl, let's have two harps!

-- Gracie Sprout

This month's sale features American folk songs and patriotic pieces in honor of Jhené and Gracie's rendition of America the Beautiful at the Super Bowl. To get the 15% discount on these nine PDFs and sheets, enter the code word America in the "Enter Promo Code" box on your shopping cart page and click "Enter Code" by April 4, 2022. See the "How to get the 15% discount" section at the bottom of this newsletter for more information.

15% off select sale items when you use the code word America

Our newsletter promo codes are redeemable online and are only valid for the music listed in the sale section above. They are not valid for phone or email orders. This month's code word is America.

Here's how to get your newsletter discount at harpcenter.com:

#2. On the page where you view the items in your cart, type this month's code word America in the "Enter Promo Code" box and click "Apply."

REMEMBER: You must enter this month's code word America in the Promo Code box and click "Apply" on your shopping cart page by April 4, 2022, to get the discount!

If you forget, or if you have trouble adding it to your order, email Sylvia immediately.