Gibson launches the 'Gibson Guitar Riff' with Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale at Nashville SC’s inaugural Major League Soccer game

The Nashville Soccer Club played its first-ever Major League Soccer match on February 29, and Gibson joined its hometown team to debut a new tradition that it has christened the 'Gibson Guitar Riff'.

The Gibson Guitar Riff takes place before each SC home game, with a different artist coming out to psych up the crowd with 30 seconds of electric guitar riffing on what Gibson has dubbed 'The Guitar' - a 1968 Les Paul Hero customized by Gibson in Nashville SC’s yellow-and-black team colors.

For the inaugural performance Gibson drafted Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale, who grabbed the Les Paul Hero for some dramatic drop-D riff shredding in front of the Backline supporters’ section at Nissan Stadium.

Said Hale, “It’s truly such an honor to be chosen to not only represent myself as a woman and a musician but to represent the amazing rock ‘n’ roll community here in Nashville.”

The Gibson Guitar Riff will be performed throughout the season by different Gibson artists before the kickoff - it remains to be seen whether it will be the same riff each time, or whether different artists will offer their own take on the format.