Trombone Shorty to perform in Super Bowl pregame

Zoom in: "It would be hard for any type of company or event to come to New Orleans … and not use the flavor," Trombone Shorty tells Axios New Orleans.

• "This is such a magical place, and the music is the heartbeat, so you have to have some type of flavor. The music is what keeps the city alive and the heartbeat going, so I think they've done a good job and I'm happy to be a part to represent the city."

Yes, but: It didn't immediately seem like that would be the case.

• When the NFL announced that Compton native Kendrick Lamar would present the Super Bowl Halftime Show, some critics wondered why a New Orleans artist wasn't in the program.
• That quickly changed once pregame artists were announced.

The latest: Shorty will team up with Daigle to perform "America the Beautiful" on Sunday.

• The pair got together in studio in recent days to talk about the arrangement, Shorty said.
• "It's gonna be a rhythm crossroads between rhythms in Lafayette and rhythms in New Orleans," he said. "We have that real Louisiana type of connection going on."

What's next: Shorty's working on new music with the New Breed Brass Band. (Their latest collaboration was Grammy nominated.)

• Plus, the lifelong sober artist just invested in mocktail brand Mockly.
• "I've never been a drinker," Shorty says, so he's tried mocktails all over the world. When he tried Mockly's and learned it was a New Orleans-based brand, he wanted to get involved. "Anything that's based out of New Orleans, I want to be part of it in some type of way."

Watch the official Apple Music interviews with all Super Bowl pregame and halftime performers Thursday starting at 10am on YouTube.