Bret Michaels, Wiz Khalifa took the stage on draft Day 2
Two local music legends, including a Butler County native, took the stage to kick off the second day of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Bret Michaels, the Chicora-born frontman of the band Poison, joined Pittsburgh native Wiz Khalifa as part of the NFL Draft Entertainment Series Friday evening, April 24.
“What a bucket list blessing to be able to come home to rock the NFL draft in honor of the game I love, the city I love, the team I love, to welcome all the fans of the NFL and honor the incredible young talent whose lives are about to change, and kick off the Nothing But A Good Draft at 5:15 p.m. next Friday on the main stage with my friend Wiz Khalifa,” Michaels wrote in a Facebook post on April 17.
The NFL shared a video of the two artists discussing their love for Pittsburgh and the region prior to their performance Friday.
“The awesome city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has absolutely 1,000% shaped my life. It shaped my journey, who I am as a person, who I am as a family man, who I am as a musician. I love the city of Pittsburgh,” Michaels said.
“You only get one hometown, and I wouldn’t trade my hometown for anywhere in the world,” Khalifa said in the video.
Michaels said the performance, and the draft as a whole, will be “Nothin’ but a Good Time” for everyone.
“This is nothing but a good draft. Mixing the NFL with music and us crushing it together, rocking that stage with Wiz Khalifa, this is going to be insane,” he said.
He added that being able to perform for a draft in Pittsburgh is a “full-circle moment” for him.
“This is bucket list, dream come true. You have no idea how fired up I am to be back in the city of Pittsburgh. It is awesome,” he said.
Khalifa said he loves being able to celebrate the sport he and many other yinzers love while bringing in his own music.
“I just really look at it as a blessing and a gift to be able to do something so special,” he said.
Michaels also said on his Facebook page that his portion of the performance is dedicated to “all our veterans and hometown heroes whose sacrifices bring us the freedoms to have the things we love ... like football and music.”
