Bret Michaels talks 'bucket list' NFL Draft performance – 'Nothin’ but a good draft'

Bret Michaels wants to make one thing clear: “Yinz have no idea how excited I am about nothin’ but a good draft.”

The Poison frontman, evoking the regional dialect of his native Pittsburgh, bursts with adrenaline on a typical day.

But that he – along with fellow Pittsburgher Wiz Khalifa and country star Kane Brown – has been tapped to perform during the 2026 NFL Draft in his hometown has the gregarious rocker vibrating with glee.

“This is my bucket list, my dream come true of rock, jock, family and friends,” he says, calling from “the ‘burg,” where he is already preparing for the April 23-25 event at Acrisure Stadium and Point State Park.

“I’ve been asked over the years to do drafts, but I said I’m waiting,” Michaels, 63, says. “I knew it was in the cards and I needed to participate in it and perform when it would be in Pittsburgh."

Michaels will take the Draft Theater stage outside the stadium at 5:15 p.m. ET April 24 – ahead of rounds 2 and 3 of the draft – with a four-song set of “all killer, no filler” hits, he says. Khalifa will follow with his quartet of songs sure to include his breakout hit “Black and Yellow,” which nods to the colors of all of Pittsburgh’s professional sports teams.

The pair will then share the stage for a recast of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” which they’ve dubbed “Sweet Home Pennsylvania.”

“Me and Wiz are gonna whoop it up together,” Michaels says of the tune they started working on last year while at a party with Fox Sports reporter Jay Glazer.

The performances, including Kane’s closing appearance April 25, will be part of the NFL’s coverage on the NFL Network, ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes and available to stream on NFL+.

Bret Michaels shares his Pittsburgh food recommendations

Though Michaels grew up in Harrisburg, a couple of hours east of Pittsburgh, he was born in the Steel City and spent time in Butler as a youngster.

“It was the superfecta for sports,” Michaels says. “Being in Harrisburg allowed me to go turnpike west to Pittsburgh, turnpike east to Philadelphia, then I could take (I)-83 to Baltimore and the (I)-15 to DC. We used to do them all.”

He’s also talking about his early days as a musician, traveling the East Coast corridor to perform. The accommodations weren’t fancy, but they provided plenty of memories.

“We were in my dad’s Galaxy 500. Almost all of the cylinders worked,” Michaels says with a chuckle. “But we had the 8-track cassette player and the equalizer and everything, so we were golden.”

In addition to his performance April 24, Michaels will be on site April 23 for red carpet chats and to join local radio stations for Rock the Dock, a pierogi toss he describes as “a lot like cornhole, except we’ll have humans laying on the ground instead of a cornhole board.”

The Pittsburgh specialty tops Michaels’ food recommendation list for out-of-towners heading to the draft, as does pizza and a meal at the legendary Primanti Bros. sandwich restaurant.

Bret Michaels has some thoughts on Steelers draft

As a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan – and longtime personal friend of former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin – Michaels has hope for the future of his team under the guidance of Mike McCarthy.

“I cannot thank Mike (Tomlin) enough for 23 incredible winning seasons. Wherever the world takes us, we are always family,” Michaels says. “In respect to McCarthy, he's a Pitt-born guy, a winning coach. I bet everything I have on him because I have to believe and he will lead us to the Super Bowl.”

Michaels, who is roving the country on his Live & Amplified tour all year, is expected to take the podium April 25 to help with announcing a later-round draft pick for the Steelers, who start the draft with a No. 21 draw.

Ask Michaels whom he’s eyeing as an addition to the team, and he has some aspirational thoughts.

“In my humble opinion, and knowing I’m not the coach or get a real vote, behind the scenes I’m making some off-the-record moves,” he says with a laugh. “I’m not saying (Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback) Fernando Mendoza, but I’m working some deals to get us the first three picks in the draft!”