Opinion
Sunday’s celebrity smorgasbord
By: Jeff Dufour
Editor at Large/Columnist, "Yeas & Nays"
01/13/09 12:05 AM EST
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Imagine the Kennedy Center Honors, the White House Correspondents Association Dinner and, well, Live Aid, all rolled into one, and you’ll get some idea of what Sunday’s inaugural opening celebration at the Lincoln Memorial will be like.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee on Monday confirmed that among the performers will be (deep breath) Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Jamie Foxx, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Martin Luther King III, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Queen Latifah, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Denzel Washington, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder.
"We will combine historical readings by prominent actors with music from an array of the greatest stars of today,” said executive producer George Stevens, Jr., who founded the Kennedy Center Honors.
Bits of the set list are even leaking out. Drummer Kenny Aronoff, part of the house band for the event, told the Bloomington Herald Times he’s practicing U2’s “Pride in the Name of Love,” Mellencamp’s “Pink Houses” and Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.”
"It's insane!" Aronoff exclaimed. "It's going to be really, really intense because there is so much work to be done beforehand."
The musicians are set to rehearse Friday and Saturday. The free, public show begins Sunday afternoon at a time still to be determined and announced.
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