Major League Soccer announced Tuesday that recording artists Chester French and Colby O'Donis will perform live at MLS Cup 2008. Major League Soccer's 13th annual championship game features the Eastern Conference Champions taking on the Western Conference Champions at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The match will be broadcast live on ABC, TeleFutura and CBC on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 3:30 ET.
"Major League Soccer is delighted in welcoming Chester French and Colby O'Donis to highlight our pre-game festivities at the 13th annual MLS Cup championship match," said Geoffrey Hayes MLS vice president of special events. "We are excited that an innovative, up-and-coming musical lineup will be on hand to provide our fans the entertainment that they have come to expect from our marquee events."
Chester French will headline the pre-game festivities with a live performance of songs from their EP She Loves Everybody, which is being released today.
The Los Angeles-based pop-rock duo -- led by singer D.A. Wallach and instrumentalist Maxwell Drummey - noted as one of the next break-out bands to hit the retro-pop music scene, were featured in Spin's Who's Next '08 and Rolling Stone's Artists To Watch earlier this year. The Harvard University alums recorded a demo from their dorm's basement studio that found its way into the hands of hip-hop mogul Kanye West. Days later a record deal was on the table. Soon after, word spread and deals from two other prominent figures in the music industry -- producer/rapper Pharrell Williams and So So Def Records label chief Jermaine Dupri -- came in for the Ivy League grads.
With plenty of notable suitors, the Harvard boys decided to ink a record deal with Pharrell's Star Trak/Interscope label. Wallach and Drummey didn't waste any time hitting the road as they opened on tour for the funk-rap group N.E.R.D. in March and followed that up with an early summer performance at the trendy Viper Room nightclub in Hollywood, Calif. They are currently on tour with Matisyahu and Flobots.
Colby O'Donis will also join in the MLS Cup festivities by performing the National Anthem. Considered a child prodigy, O'Donis started his musical career at the age of nine after producing a song featured on the Stuart Little movie soundtrack.
As a teenager, the New York City native worked on his writing and production while collaborating with R&B/Hip-Hop star Akon. After hitting the music scene in his elementary school years, O'Donis, at age 19, finally landed a record deal with Akon's KonLive label. His first single, "What You Got" featuring Akon, received heavy rotation on the internet and radio stations all over the country. A true triple-threat, the budding R&B/Pop star hit the road this summer-performing to packed club venues in cities like Las Vegas, Detroit and San Jose.
MLS Cup 2008 is the 13th annual championship game of Major League Soccer and will be the third time the League crowns a champion at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., and the fourth time in the Los Angeles area. MLS Cup 1998 was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The two previous MLS Cup matches held at The Home Depot Center were resounding successes. In 2003, a sold out crowd of 27,000 witnessed a remarkable match with the San Jose Earthquakes taking home the title with a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Fire in a wide-open contest. In 2004, D.C. United lifted the MLS Cup trophy after an intense 3-2 win over the Kansas City Wizards. D.C. United is the only four-time winner of MLS Cup, while San Jose, Los Angeles, and Houston each have two MLS Cup titles.
For seating and pricing options or to purchase tickets to MLS Cup 2008, log onto www.lagalaxy.com or call the Los Angeles Galaxy's ticket office at 1-877-3GALAXY for more information.
• Chester French's official website
• Chester French's MySpace page
• Chester French's Viper Room performance
