Minnesota musicians take you behind the scenes of Snoop Dogg’s wild halftime show

Harpist Nikki Lemire had to work Christmas Day, but she’s not complaining. The Duluth native was one of more than a dozen Minnesota musicians backing Snoop Dogg at U.S. Bank Stadium in an eclectic concert just as memorable as the Vikings’ upset win.

Lemire, who turned 41 on Christmas Eve, got the invite to perform while standing in line at Target, just a week before a star-studded show that would be streamed to millions of fans across the globe on Netflix.

“I just was shocked and super excited,” Lemire said Monday. “I grew up listening to Snoop Dogg and always thought his music was really cool. Now it’s gotten a little cooler.”

Her favorite memory came early on. On the first of two days of rehearsals, Snoop made sure to shake the hand of every orchestra member.

“Not even maestros do that,” Lemire said. “He even asked us to play a little for him. When we were done, he put his hand on his heart and thanked us. It made us feel like we were a big part of the show.”

None of the local talent, which included Vikings and Gophers cheerleaders, got much advance notice for the high-profile gig.

Twin Cities resident Adi Yeshaya, who serves as the musical arranger on Snoop’s show, “The Voice,” got the ball rolling. He reached out on Dec. 14 to cellist Rebecca Arons, his partner in their creative company STRINGenius. The Twin Cities-based group curates special shows for talent ranging from the Eagles to Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.

One of her first calls was to violinist Emilia Mettenbrink, a veteran of the Minnesota Orchestra. Mettenbrink has moved to Quebec, but she happened to be around to serve as musical director for Jungle Theater’s production of “Dinner For One.”

“I got a text from Rebecca around midnight, which began a series of strange conversations while I was lying in bed,” Mettenbrink said. “I kept thinking, ‘I’m glad I’m in town for this one.’”

The two began the recruiting process. But they couldn’t just pick great musicians. They had to be folks who could embrace the show’s eclectic nature, and have the stamina to dash on and off the field in just a couple minutes. The NFL also insisted on a diverse lineup.

“We tend to be a pretty white community, but they wanted representation of classical music across the country, not just Minnesota,” Mettenbrink said. Snagging a pianist proved to be particularly difficult since so many of them already have church gigs on Christmas Day. (They ended up with one of Yeshaya’s students).

Playing great isn’t necessary for one of these gigs.

“When the cameras cut to us, you have to display a certain kind of intensity and energy that you can only have if you’re a real musician,” she said. “It makes a difference.”

There wasn’t much interaction with the guest stars. Surprise guest Andrea Bocelli wasn’t even at rehearsals. But the locals got a chance to bond backstage with ballerinas and back-up singers from out of town. J. Black, who sang with Snoop during the show, was all ears when orchestra members were jamming to a Bach suite.

“He got verklempt,” Arons said. “Afterwords he said, ‘I just want to tell you I grew up listening to string music. My mom loves it so much. You are all making me so happy.’”

The actual show was praised for Snoop’s desire to offer something for everyone with representation from the worlds of country (Lainey Wilson), K-pop (Huntrix from “KPop Demon Hunters”) and opera (Bocelli).

Netflix hasn’t released numbers, but last year’s halftime Christmas show, featuring Beyoncé, was streamed by more than 25 million people. Social media blew up almost instantly with many wondering why Super Bowl shows aren’t this entertaining.

“During the performance, with the lights and everything, I saw people crying,“ he said. ”It was so beautiful. It really hit me. This is why we do what we do.“

Most of the local musicians didn’t stick around to celebrate. They were eager to get home to their families. It was, after all, Christmas Day.

“One of the horn players was staying with me and my mom and we talked about going out, but we didn’t think anything would be open,” Mettenbrink said. “So we just ordered Indian food and sat on the couch.”

Lemire returned to her Richfield home before the game ended. When she pulled into the driveway, her three kids, ages 11, 9 and 7, ran out of the house cheering at the top of their lungs. She quickly changed into pajamas, poured some Champagne and watched a repeat of her work.

All of them ended up with an unexpected gift: The producers let them keep their costumes, a mix of formal and hip-hop styles made up of tuxedo jackets, red bow ties and sneakers.