The Alum Behind the Sound of the Super Bowl
Joshua Sutherland
Image by Jeff Lewis
Super Bowl LX is shaping up to be an exciting one for New Englanders—Berklee in particular. The Patriots are making their first appearance since 2019, this time against the Seattle Seahawks. Charlie Puth BM ’13 will kick off the festivities by singing the national anthem. And while his face won't be plastered all over the screen, Joshua Sutherland BM ’19 is the man behind the rest of the music for the big game.
The Boston Globe recently interviewed Sutherland about his role as one of the league's two music supervisors, where he's "the bridge between the music industry and the NFL," choosing and licensing music for use in broadcasts, campaigns, and social media. And it's not as easy as just picking a playlist based on vibes—music supervisors often have to play detective to track down rights owners, and then negotiate those deals while staying on budget. Sutherland told Berklee Today in 2024 about once licensing a song so new that the rights hadn't been worked out yet. He ended up having to deal with 11 writers and seven publishers just for the one song.
Sutherland grew up in Randolph, Massachusetts, and moved to Mattapan to attend Boston Arts Academy, the city's public performing arts high school. He received a City Music scholarship to Berklee, where he studied electronic production and design (EPD). He moved to LA and did sync licensing for HBO projects like Euphoria and Rap Sh!t before joining the NFL.
The Patriots' Super Bowl Anthem
You may hear the sounds of another Berklee connection during Sunday's game. Roy Studmire, assistant professor of contemporary writing and production (CWP), wrote and performed an anthem based on the Patriots' team motto, "We all we got, we all we need." The song quickly went viral on social media after he released it befor the AFC Championship game. Sutherland then licensed the song for the NFL and NFL Network.
@iamroystudmire Let’s make this the new #PATRIOTS theme song! WE ALL WE GOT! WE ALL WE NEED!! LET STRAP UP! Drop a 🔥🔥 share this and tag @patriots
♬ original sound - Roy Studmire
"Literally when I started creating, I heard this sound. It sounds like a warning sound, like we are coming after the title," Studmire told CBS News. "Obviously, we are in the bounce era and people bouncing on the field. I'm literally visualizing all of this as I'm creating it."
Pablo Munguía
Bad Bunny's Halftime Show
For those just tuning in for Bad Bunny, you'll have Pablo Munguía ’98 to thank for the clear sound. Berklee Valencia's director of music production, technology, and innovation (MPTI) is back as the audio engineer for this year's halftime show. He's worked on some of the biggest past shows, including Lady Gaga, the 50 years of hip hop tribute, and Prince (his personal favorite), along with many other live broadcasts, such as the Academy Awards, the Grammys, and the MTV Video Music Awards.
“The Super Bowl Halftime Show is the most challenging musical event on the planet, from a logistical standpoint,” Munguía said in 2017. “A fully operational stage, complete with lighting, video, fireworks, audio, and musical instruments, has to be assembled from scratch, line tested, and be ready for show in roughly seven minutes, in the middle of a football field, without damaging the field.”
He also noted that the 12-minute show "must wow and awe an audience of over 100 million television viewers that has come to expect the extraordinary."
Tara Bellucci is Berklee's director of content strategy. She has been a writer, editor, and digital media consultant for over a decade.
