Charlie Puth performs “The Star-Spangled Banner” prior to Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Feb. 8, 2026. Photo: Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.
Members of Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Sainted Trap Choir and Color of Noize Orchestra celebrate after their performance at Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8, 2026. Courtesy Max Gerlock.
When Charlie Puth’s managers needed local singers to honor the gospel tradition in his Whitney Houston Super Bowl LX tribute with “The Star-Spangled Banner,” they went directly to the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. Ten OIGC members were selected to perform. One was Max Gerlock, vocalist and guitarist of Oakland indie rock band Super Cassette.
The opportunity arrived two weeks ahead of the game.
“I got a text saying I’d been selected,” Gerlock said. “I was extremely excited, but I also had mini panic attacks leading up to it.”
Puth’s team didn’t provide any sheet music; only recordings. Choir director Terrance Kelly and choir members transcribed the parts by ear across four rehearsals before a final run-through at Levi’s Stadium with Puth and the supporting musicians — including Kenny G on saxophone — on Friday, Oct. 6.
The moment put Oakland’s deep gospel tradition on the world’s biggest stage — and for Gerlock, it was a crash course in translating generations of musical legacy into a performance that would reach more than 100 million viewers on TV, in addition to the 70,000 in attendance.
The scale of the production was unlike anything Gerlock had experienced.
“The catering tents, the broadcast trailers — the technical achievement of putting something like that together is mind-blowing,” Gerlock said. “Watching it from the inside, you realize how much is happening that no one at home ever sees.”
The OIGC singers met members of the Sainted Trap Choir from Charlotte, North Carolina — who had performed at the Grammys with Pharrell just days earlier — and L.A.’s Color of Noize Orchestra. Sainted Trap Choir’s approval of the Oakland troupe’s music transcription was a hard-won validation for Gerlock.
Puth, the star of the moment, treated his supporting musicians well.
“He was very kind and thankful to the choir and the orchestra, and seemed genuinely touched to be performing the national anthem,” Gerlock said. “After thanking us in the rehearsal, he said, ‘This is a big deal for me,’ and he teared up after singing on the day of the Super Bowl, which I don’t think was shown on the broadcast.”
Max Gerlock and members of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir perform with Charlie Puth prior to Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Feb. 8, 2026. Photo: Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.
Charlie Puth performs “The Star-Spangled Banner” prior to Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Feb. 8, 2026. Photo: Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.
L to R: Max Gerlock, Jackson Hayes and Dennis Reed, Jr. celebrate their performance at Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8, 2026. Courtesy Gerlock.
The choir members walked onto the field to set up for Puth’s performance as Green Day was performing.
“Green Day is my first favorite band. They’re why I started playing guitar and singing,” Gerlock said, adding that “Welcome to Paradise,” “2000 Light Years Away” and “Jesus of Suburbia” were touchstones. Standing on the field with that music in the air, the moment touched the Oakland artist.
Puth’s performance largely garnered praise.
Gerlock credited Dennis Reed, Jr., who directed Sainted Trap Choir and arranged the choir parts, as well Puth.
“Charlie did a great job honoring the gospel legacy and bringing real blues inflection to the national anthem,” Gerlock said. “Everyone performed fantastically. Working with other artists left me completely in awe of the power of music.”
The adrenaline of the moment is feeding directly into Super Cassette‘s next chapter. The band has a tour in the works and an album in development. Gerlock said the songwriting has hit a new stride.
Super Cassette plays Kilowatt in San Francisco on April 3.
About The Author
Sery Morales grew up in a small town that only had three radio stations: country, Christian and classic rock. Her tastes are much wider. She plays the flute, piano, recorder and electric guitar—though not very well. To make up for her mediocre skills, she befriended musicians around Oakland for the last 10 years; not because they were musicians, but because they laughed at her jokes.
Sery Morales grew up in a small town that only had three radio stations: country, Christian and classic rock. Her tastes are much wider. She plays the flute, piano, recorder and electric guitar—though not very well. To make up for her mediocre skills, she befriended musicians around Oakland for the last 10 years; not because they were musicians, but because they laughed at her jokes.