Georgia Entertainment Scene
Georgia Entertainment Scene

Ed Roland and the Sweet Tea Project to sing national anthem at Atlanta Hawks game

Ed Roland.

Credit: Melissa Ruggieri

Credit: Melissa Ruggieri

Ed Roland.
By Melissa Ruggieri
May 20, 2015
Ed Roland and the Sweet Tea Project performed the national anthem before a Braves game last month. Now they'll move on to the Hawks. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Credit: Melissa Ruggieri

icon to expand image

Credit: Melissa Ruggieri

BY MELISSA RUGGIERI

Last month, Ed Roland predicted that if the Atlanta Hawks made it to the NBA Finals , Collective Soul would be there to "rock" the arena.

OK, we’re getting close.

The Hawks host the first game of the Conference Finals tonight at Philips Arena and Roland will be there – but it will be his rootsy/Americana Sweet Tea Project joining him to sing the national anthem prior to the 8:30 p.m. tipoff.

Roland and his bandmates – Christopher Alan Yates (bass and banjo), Brian Bisky (bass), Mike Rizzi (drums) and Jesse Triplett (guitar ) – will perform a Sweet Tea-ified version of the song, as they did last month at the Braves' home opener.

As for Collective Soul, the Atlanta-based pop-rock band is planning a fall release for "See What You Started By Continuing," followed by a tour to celebrate the band's 21st birthday.

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About the Author

Melissa Ruggieri has covered music and entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 2010 and created the Atlanta Music Scene blog. She's kept vampire hours for more than two decades and remembers when MTV was awesome.

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