Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé and Denzel Washington are among the very boldfaced headliners expected for the pay-cable network’s Jan 18 special We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, one of the nearly 5,000 celebrations taking place across the US leading up to Obama’s swearing-in on Jan 20.
Also confirmed for the smorgasbord of musical performances and historical readings are “Yes We Can” maestro Will.i.am, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Garth Brooks, Stevie Wonder, Shakira, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Jamie Foxx, John Mellencamp, Queen Latifah, Herbie Hancock, opera star Renée Fleming and Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles.
The Washington, DC, show will be free and open to the public.
“Our intention is to root the event in history, celebrating the moments when our nation has united to face great challenges and prevail,” said executive producer George Stevens Jr.
“We will have the statue of Abraham Lincoln looking down on our stage and a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people lining the mall—a tableau any director would relish,” added director-producer Don Mischer.
Further showing just how down the network is with the people, HBO will televise the concert during a free-preview weekend, so it won’t just be regular subscribers who get to watch the festivities.
Discover more from Craig Hill
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Craig Hill 