Eric Church to Play Dallas Cowboys Halftime on Thanksgiving

While Lady Gaga preps for her Super Bowl halftime show on February 5th, Eric Church is gearing up for his own prime-time football appearance on Thanksgiving Day. Mr. Misunderstood himself will take the field at AT&T Stadium midway through a Turkey Day matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins.

The newest battle in a longtime rivalry between the two franchises, the Thanksgiving game will start at 3:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, November 24th. Church’s performance is part of a longer lineage, too, following a string of country-leaning halftime shows during the Cowboys’ traditional Thanksgiving Day games. Luke Bryan performed during last year’s event, which found the Cowboys falling to the Carolina Panthers, while Kenny Chesney shared the stage with Kid Rock during 2012’s loss to the Redskins. The tradition dates back by nearly two decades, with Reba McEntire covering the Diane Warren song “What If” during a 1997 matchup with the Tennessee Oilers.

As usual, the halftime show will have a charitable bent. Funds generated by the performance will go toward the Red Kettle Campaign, a long-running holiday initiative spearheaded by the Salvation Army to provide gifts, clothing and other wintertime support for families in need.

Meanwhile, Church’s ambitious, no-supporting-acts-needed Holdin’ My Own Tour kicks off January 13th in Lincoln, Nebraska.