Matt Goss, Phantom’s Hertzenberg, USAF Thunderbirds at Kobalt Tools 400 at LVMS March 6

He sings of “Lovely Las Vegas” in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway NASCAR commercials and Sunday morning he’ll serenade the assembled multitude prior to the start of Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Kobalt Tools 400.

British-born Matt Goss headlines every Friday and Saturday night in the Gossy Room inside Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino. The London Daily Mail refers to him as “Las Vegas’ new Frank Sinatra,” but U.K. fans know him as one-third of the late-‘80s pop group Bros.

Bros sold more than 16 million records and landed a string of singles in the top 10 on the pop music charts from 1987-89 in England, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland, France and Ireland. The group eventually broke up and Matt became a solo act while fellow band member and brother, Luke, took up acting.

Fast-forward to today: Goss is in the middle of a three-year contract at Caesar’s Palace and will make a triumphant return to England to play the Royal Albert Hall in October.

“I’m thrilled to be apart of the NASCAR pre-race show and to perform my song ‘Lovely Las Vegas’ to the crowd of 145,000 fans,” said Goss, who met Sinatra when he was 21. “They’ve all come to know the song as part of NASCAR’s promotional campaign this spring and it’s a treat to be able to perform it for them alive as well as to the televised audience.”

Kristen Hertzenberg will sing the national anthem prior to the command to start engines for Sunday’s race. Originally from the Houston area, Kristen originally aspired to opera and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Voice from the University of Texas at Austin. From Austin, she moved to Boston where she earned her Master’s in Opera Performance at the Longy School of Music. She sang with several orchestras and also placed first in the National Opera Association competition. She was then invited to sing her winning aria in a concert honoring Marilyn Horne at Boston’s Symphony Hall.

She was offered stage acting roles and played Sheila on a European tour of Hair, performing in Paris, Milan, Rome, Amsterdam, Vienna, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Cologne, among many other cities.

Upon returning from her adventures in Europe, she moved to Las Vegas and was cast as Christine in the original cast of Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular.

As Hertzenberg sings the closing words of the national anthem, the world-famous U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will perform their patented flyover to bring a crescendo to the pre-race festivities.

NASCAR Weekend begins on Thursday, March 3 with a full day of NASCAR Nationwide Series practice and a free driver autograph session. Stratosphere Pole Day features practice for both the Kobalt Tools 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and Sam’s Town 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race as well as qualifying for the Kobalt Tools 400 on Friday, March 4. The Sam’s Town 300 is set for Saturday, March 5 and the Kobalt Tools 400 will run on Sunday, March 6. Two nights of World of Outlaws Sprint Car racing will take place at the Dirt Track March 2 and 3.

Tickets for all events are on sale at www.lvms.com or by calling (800) 644-4444.

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