Watch Brittany Howard Honor Tina Turner With St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Longtime St. Louis resident Tina Turner was posthumously honored on Sunday at the “Eternal: A Tribute To Tina Turner” concert event presented by St. Louis CITY SC. Among the performances at Powell Hall at the Jack C. Taylor Music Center was Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard joining the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for one of Turner’s signature songs, “The Best.”

Turner spent parts of her adolescence living in and around St. Louis. She began her professional music career in the city in the late-1950s. A twice-inducted member of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, Turner died in 2023 at age 83.

Along with the “Eternal: A Tribute To Tina Turner” concert, the St. Louis CITY SC unveiled special Tina Turner Kits that the team will wear during the 2026/2027 MLS season. Members of the St Louis Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Stéphane Denève wore the Tina Turner Kit during Sunday’s concert.

Before performing “The Best,” which was first recorded by Bonnie Tyler in 1987 and then became a hit for Turner in 1988, Howard spoke to the audience in St. Louis. A transcript of Howard’s pre-song speech follows:

“When I was a little girl, I was probably 5 years old. My mom says, ‘Brittany, Brittany, get in here.’ And I thought, ‘What did I do?’ You know, and we used to have one of them old televisions, with the wood around the screen. And there’s this woman on the screen and she’s flinging her hair and she’s stomping her legs. She’s like a wild animal.

“I was like, ‘Wow! Mama, who is that?’ She said, ‘That’s Tina Turner. You need to know about her.’ And I said, ‘OK.’ We watched it together. She said, ‘You know, her legs are insured.’ And I don’t know if that’s true. I still don’t know if that’s true.

“But I’m honored to be here, share this stage with these wonderful musicians, wonderful singers in your beautiful city.”

See highlights of the collaborative performance and the video unveiling of the Tina Turner Kits below: