JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville's own Derek Trucks tells his wife, Susan Tedeschi, "You'll get it. No question."
He's talking about nailing down a certain moment of the National Anthem.
Tedeschi will be the vocalist singing the National Anthem at the Jaguars/Chargers playoff game Saturday.
She says the trickiest part is the beginning, the very beginning.
"Oh, say can you see..." is the hardest part because, she says, you have to start on just the right low note because the "whole range" of the song has some wild rides up.
Tedeschi, who's earned six Grammy nominations and a Grammy Award, has sung the National Anthem on the field before --by herself.
Saturday will be the first time the husband and wife team will perform it together.
Tedeschi says it's a relief, in a way, because her husband's guitar notes give her the pitch to begin.
But what about her favorite part of the iconic song?
Tedeschi says, "'The rockets red glare' -- I love that part because I'm a natural belter."
No doubt her voice can push a powerful feeling to the spirit behind the words.
As for Trucks, he says, "We'll put a little flair into it, but you will know what song it is."
Of course, it might be tempting for Trucks to improvise a lot on guitar.
Rolling Stone named him the 16th best guitar player of all time out of its top 100 guitarists. Known as a child prodigy, Trucks was impressing people with his guitar playing at age 10. By age 20, he had played with Bob Dylan and Joe Walsh and then he joined The Allman Brothers
But he plans to stay with the traditions of the National Anthem because of the influence from his grandfather. "My grandfather was 101 when he passed a year or so ago. He was a WWII veteran," Trucks said.
His grandfather fought in the Battle of the Bulge and he believed in staying true to anthems. "He wanted to hear the melody and the song...I think about that," Trucks says.
Tedeschi and Trucks are huge Jaguar fans themselves. They've been going to games "since the beginning," Trucks said. And now they're excited to see the Jags and the community all pumped up.
Now, Trucks says, "You got a real quarterback and a real coach." Tedeschi adds how much they admire Doug Pederson, head coach. After they sing, the team will be sitting in a group of 12 cheering on the Jags.
The honor of performing at the first Jags' playoff game in five years is significant for Tedeschi Trucks.
But it comes on the heels of another honor.
Tedeschi recently earned a prestigious award called the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal for Contributions to American Culture and the Arts. The award announcement says Tedeschi received the award for “her embodiment of the American Experience through music; for imbuing the American soundtrack with songs that transcend from grief to joy."
That's a serious statement, a deep compliment.
But the words from "grief to joy" could also apply to the Jaguars, a team which has popped out of a deep pit to a playoff run.
Will they make the Super Bowl? Trucks smiles and says, "I may or may have not placed a bet on it before the season. I can take all of us out to dinner if they do."