Jermaine Paul to perform national anthem at the 2013 Urban Invitational
"Battle of the Bands" Competition also will be held on-field in Minute Maid Park Between Texas Southern's "Ocean of Soul" and Prairie View A&M's "Marching Storm"
Republic Records recording artist and "The Voice" Season Two winner Jermaine Paul will
perform the National Anthem at the 2013 Urban Invitational in Minute Maid Park, home of
the Houston Astros, on Saturday, February 23rd. His performance, beginning at 4:00 p.m.
CT, and the tournament games that will follow, will air live on MLB Network and MLB.com.
The games will be called by MLB Network's Darryl Hamilton, Joe Magrane, Sam Ryan
and Paul Severino.
Paul has been an accomplished performer all of his life. At 15, the Spring Valley, New York
native, joined the pop quartet 1Accord and signed to T.W.Is.M records through A&M, and
the group released the single entitled "Don't Stop, Don't Quit." Paul, whose most recent hit
is entitled "I Believe in this Life," has performed backup vocals for chart-topping artists such
as Adele, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige and Joss Stone.
Additionally, MLB and the Astros will host a "battle of the bands" competition between
Texas Southern's "Ocean of Soul" and Prairie View A&M University's "Marching Storm." The
performances are scheduled for 6:00 p.m., also at Minute Maid Park. Battle of the Bands
competitions have traditionally been a staple feature of Historically Black College and
Universities (HBCU) sporting events.
The Urban Invitational is the annual round-robin collegiate baseball tournament designed to
give HBCUs and their baseball programs national exposure. The 2013 tournament, which is
returning to Houston for the second consecutive year, will feature four HBCUs: Alabama
State University, Southern University, Prairie View A&M University, and Texas Southern
University.
Tickets to all games and events at Minute Maid Park will be available for $10.00 for adults
and $5.00 for children, ages 3-14. For Friday's games, High School students and below with
a valid student ID will be admitted to the ballpark for free. Parking for Minute Maid Park is
also available for $5.00 in the Diamond Lot and in Lot A. All proceeds from the ticket sales
will benefit the Astros Foundation, a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation, to support the
Houston Astros MLB Urban Youth Academy at Sylvester Turner Park. Fans can purchase
tickets at Astros.com/UrbanInvitational.