Rockford Auburn High School grad to sing national anthem to open White Sox game

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — An Auburn High School graduate now living in Chicagoland will sing the national anthem tonight as the White Sox take on the Detroit Tigers at Rate Field in Chicago.

Hannah Heavin, a singer and DJ who graduated from Auburn in 2013, won this year’s White Sox national anthem contest. She was chosen from seven finalists and roughly 200-300 submissions.

She said singing in front of a stadium has been a bucket-list item for her career.

“I’ve been singing my whole life and to cross off a stadium, a ballpark: It’s the largest performance I’ve ever had,” Heavin said in a phone interview.

Heavin grew up in Oak Lawn before coming to Rockford to attend Auburn’s Creative and Performing Arts school, an audition-only program for artistically gifted students.

Heavin submitted a video audition to the White Sox before being chosen as one of seven finalists. She then was asked to perform before a panel of judges at Rate Field on July 24 before winning the honor to sing at tonight’s game.

“It was a goal of mine this year to have more singing opportunities,” said Heavin, who now lives in Berwyn. “My DJ career is coming up on its 10-year anniversary. I’ve had incredible success with that. What I’m finding is a lot of people don’t know that I’m a singer. … I’m hoping it does kind of get my name out there and bring me more opportunities to perform either in the Midwest or beyond.”

Tonight’s game is at 6:40 p.m. at Rate Field, 333 W. 35th St., on Chicago’s South Side. The national anthem will take place around 6:20 p.m. If you want to attend the game, you can get tickets HERE.

The game will be broadcast on the Chicago Sports Network.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas