New York, July 30: Britney Spears and Mary J. Blige are on board for a Sept. 4 free concert at the National Mall in Washington, D.C, to kick off the 2003 National Football League season, Billboard.com has learned. Organizers are eyeing additional acts for the event, including Kid Rock and Aerosmith. The show will precede the first NFL game of the year later that evening between the Washington Redskins and New York Jets at D.C.'s FedEx Field.
ABC will broadcast the concert from 8-9 p.m. ET, followed by the Redskins/Jets game. An NFL spokesperson would not confirm the concert lineup, but acknowledged the league was exploring plans for "an entertainment-driven" event to kick off the season.
To open last year's season, the NFL staged a similar event in New York's Times Square. Bon Jovi, Enrique Iglesias, Alicia Keys and Eve performed before a crowd of 500,000, preceding the San Francisco 49ers' matchup between the New York Giants. Bon Jovi also played at halftime during the game.
Spears, who also has plans to appear at the Jets' training camp next month, will release her fourth Jive album in late fall, according to her spokersperson. The set is expected to include contributions from the production teams the Neptunes and the Matrix.
Blige's upcoming Geffen album, "Love & Life," is due Aug. 26.
Bureau Report