# Martha Reeves Responds to National Anthem Backlash, Citing Wet Field and No Monitors
Martha Reeves, the 85-year-old Motown singer known for fronting Martha and the Vandellas, is trending online this week after social posts identified her as the singer in a national anthem clip that drew heavy criticism.
Social posts identified Reeves as the singer in a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” with two backup singers before the opening game of the new Women’s Pro Baseball League on August 1, 2026, at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois. A clip of the performance spread quickly online, with one version on X drawing more than 9 million views, and commenters comparing it to Fergie’s widely panned anthem at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game.
What happened at the game
- The Los Angeles Queens beat the New York Heights 10-8 in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 4,000.
- The league’s own game pages confirm the event and its outcome, but don’t name who sang the anthem.
- Entertainment outlets, including TMZ, identified the singer as Reeves.
What Reeves said about the performance
Reeves responded to the criticism in a statement to TMZ Sports, published August 2: “The field conditions were wet and windy, and without stage monitors I wasn’t able to hear myself as I normally would. While it wasn’t the performance I had hoped for, I’m grateful to have been there in support of these remarkable athletes and this groundbreaking league.”
The statement was given directly to TMZ Sports, and outlets including AOL and Yahoo Entertainment have since carried it, crediting TMZ.
Reeves also called the invitation “an incredible honor.”
Who is Martha Reeves?
For readers who know the name but not the story: Reeves was the lead singer of Martha and the Vandellas, a Motown group formed in Detroit that turned out a run of 1960s hits still played today, including “Dancing in the Street,” “Nowhere to Run,” “(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave” and “Jimmy Mack.”
- The Motown Museum credits the group with shooting the label’s first music video, for “Nowhere to Run,” inside a Detroit Ford Mustang plant in 1965.
- The Vandellas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 — only the second all-female group to receive that honor.
- Reeves later moved from music into local politics, winning a seat on the Detroit City Council in November 2005.
- In March 2024, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in a ceremony attended by Berry Gordy, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Mickey Stevenson.
According to her own website, the Vandellas lineup she performs with today consists of her sisters Lois and Delphine. The anthem, though, was billed as a solo performance by Reeves with two backup singers — her website doesn’t say whether those two were her sisters or other performers.
Why this game mattered
The anthem controversy landed on a night that was itself a milestone for women’s sports. Sources differ on how to frame the league’s historical gap, with some describing it as the first U.S. women’s professional baseball league in nearly 30 years and others comparing it with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which disbanded in 1954.
The WPBL launched with four teams: the Los Angeles Queens, New York Heights, San Francisco Firebells and Boston Hunters, with opening weekend games at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield on August 1 and 2, 2026. A 99-year-old former AAGPBL player, Maybelle Blair, threw the ceremonial first pitch.
What’s next for Reeves
Her official website says she’s set to release “Searching,” her first new album in 22 years, with a New Orleans jazz influence; the lead single, “To Know You Is to Love You,” came out in June.
As of now, there are no scheduled 2026 tour dates listed for Martha Reeves and the Vandellas on major ticket sites, but her site says she continues to book solo shows and club dates.