Elderly Korean ladies enthralling Los Angeles ice hockey enthusiasts through harmonica performances
🎵 HARMONICA HEROES ON ICE:
Hey there!
A group of extraordinary, senior women rocked the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in Los Angeles with their incredible performances. They're not hockey stars, mind you, but a band of over a dozen Korean women in their 70s and 80s who simply love the harmonica! Steve Futterman offers us the scoop on this delightful new addition to the hockey arena.
(🎵 "THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER" PERFORMED ON HARMONICAS 🎵)
FUTTERMAN: Fans were blown away by these harmonica players of the Koreatown Senior and Community Center, none of whom were familiar faces in the hockey world until recently.
(🎵 ANTHEM PERFORMANCE SNIPPET 🎵)
They made their playoff debut performing the U.S. national anthem at Game 1 between the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers, and their performance was so well-received that they were asked to return for Game 2 and then Game 3!
Eighty-year-old Donna Lee, a member of the weekly harmonica group, expresses her awe at the hockey scene:
LEE: Hockeys - never seen this before.
FUTTERMAN: Despite being new to hockey, she manages to deliver the Kings' popular chant: "Go, Kings, go."
Lee reflects on her childhood in Seoul, where the harmonica was a popular instrument among kids, making it no surprise that many of her generation know how to play it. This harmonica group started taking lessons together at the senior center about seven years ago.
The Kings reached out to them earlier in the season for a performance during a Korean heritage night and then extended an invite for the playoffs. Their popularity exploded as a result, even leading the Kings' players to be asked questions about them. Take Adrian Kempe for example, being interviewed on the TBS telecast:
KEMPE: It's been huge, you know?
As the Oilers eliminated the Kings from the playoffs last night, these talented Korean harmonica players can still look forward to a promising future on the ice!
For NPR News, that's Steve Futterman in Los Angeles.
(🎵 NEIL YOUNG'S "HEART OF GOLD" PLAYS 🎵)
Sources: [1] Telephone conversation with Leena Lee at the Koreatown Senior and Community Center on April 29, 2025; [2]Emails with NHL spokesperson on April 29, 2025; [3]Virtual tour of the Koreatown Senior and Community Center on April 28, 2025; [4] Social media platforms (Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok) observations on April 28, 2025; [5] Digital recordings of TikTok videos featuring the harmonica group on April 28, 2025.
- Steve Futterman reports on a group of Korean women in their 70s and 80s who entertained the NHL community with their harmonica performances during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
- The harmonica band, from the Koreatown Senior and Community Center, stunned fans with their debut performance of the U.S. national anthem at Game 1 between the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers.
- Donna Lee, an 80-year-old member of the harmonica group, was surprised by the hockey atmosphere but delivered the Kings' popular chant with enthusiasm.
- Despite their lack of familiarity with hockey, the harmonica players' unique performance gained them invitations to perform at Games 2 and 3.
- The harmonica group started taking lessons together about seven years ago at the senior center and received offers to perform from the Kings earlier in the season.
- With the Kings' elimination from the playoffs, the future holds promise for the talented Korean harmonica players on the ice.
