St. Louis CITY SC will continue its celebration of Tina Turner on Saturday, August 22, with a matchday dedicated to the Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll. The day marks the culmination of months of work connecting young artists to Turner’s legacy through a partnership with COCA. For the club, the event is the latest chapter in its Tina Kit initiative. For the students who have spent months studying Turner’s music and impact, it reflects both their growth and the reach of Turner’s story.
The club’s Tina Turner Night at Energizer Park is part of CITY SC’s broader effort to honor Turner through the first adidas collaboration with a female music artist on a soccer kit. The celebration includes a free CITY Block Party featuring performances by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO), St. Louis native Kennedy Holmes, and COCA students enrolled in a Turner-focused music curriculum developed with the club.
Dr. Philip A. Woodmore, COCA’s Artistic Director of Voice and Director of Camps, was asked to design and lead that curriculum. He said the collaboration allowed him to revisit Turner’s work with a deeper lens while guiding students through her catalog and influence.
“I’ve done a lot of Tina Turner music as a choral director, but I hadn’t really done a deep dive,” Woodmore said. “This has been a great opportunity for me to learn more about her legacy and her tremendous connection to the city.”
Woodmore said the impact on students has been immediate.
“I love seeing these students’ eyes light up, knowing that someone who went to a St. Louis high school and walked the same streets they walk had such a tremendous career,” he said.
COCA students will perform a medley of Turner’s most popular songs at 5:55 p.m. during the CITY Block Party on Lou Fusz Plaza, ahead of the team’s match against Houston Dynamo. Their performance is part of a collaboration that began before the Tina Kit reveal and continued through rehearsals, community events and symphony performances.
“This fusion of sports and the arts is a really cool opportunity,” Woodmore said. “CITY has been very welcoming to me, my team and our students.”
Matt Sebek, CITY SC’s Chief Experience Officer, said blending soccer and the arts was intentional.
“The goal of the partnership was never to create a single moment in time,” Sebek said. “We wanted something with multiple layers and extension points.”
Sebek said the collaboration has introduced Turner’s legacy to soccer fans — and soccer to people who may not have followed the sport before.
“For soccer fans who were already here, they’re learning things about Tina Turner they didn’t know,” he said. “And people who knew nothing about soccer but were into art and Tina’s music are finding the game.”
He said the club has seen that crossover firsthand.
“You’ll see young girls wearing the Tina Turner kit around the stadium,” he said. “You’ll see COCA kids performing Tina songs — where a portion of every jersey sold helps fund this program.”
For one of Woodmore’s students, 18-year-old Safiya Austin-El, the experience has been motivating. Austin-El, who graduated from Grand Center Arts Academy and leaves for Norwalk Conservatory in Connecticut this week, was one of the lead vocalists during a preview performance for Eternal: A Tribute to Tina Turner at Powell Hall.
“One of the reasons I perform is to make other people feel seen,” she said. “Being able to portray her songs and her life through her music — especially at a place like the symphony — is an eye-opener for someone my age.”
Austin-El said Turner’s journey — a Black woman dominating a white male industry — has shaped her perspective as she prepares to leave home.
“Her resilience through everything wasn’t easy,” she said. “Making music in a field dominated by people who were the opposite of her still happens now. So, for her to take that chance on herself shows me I can do the same.”
She said performing Turner’s music for audiences who may not know her story has been meaningful.
“There could be a little girl who sees me and sees that I look like her,” she said. “That could open her eyes to performing or connecting to Tina Turner’s story.”
Austin-El said the partnership between CITY SC and COCA has shown her what intentional collaboration can look like.
“When people think of St. Louis, they think of something negative,” she said. “But everybody knows Tina Turner. So, choosing her — and choosing us to represent her — was a great choice.”
Woodmore will be recognized during the match as an Enterprise Exceptional Neighbor — an honor he says reflects the work of his students as much as his own.
“It’s a full-circle moment,” he said. “To celebrate excellence centered around Tina Turner, and to have my students be part of that, is really special.”
Sebek said the club hopes Saturday becomes a lasting memory for the region.
“I think people will look back and say, ‘Remember when St. Louis CITY turned St. Louis into Tina Town,’” he said.
Tickets for Tina Turner Night are available at stlcitysc.com. Fans can also stream Eternal: A Tribute to Tina Turner on Apple TV and Apple Music beginning August 22.