Beyonce, Mary J. Blige and Usher will join more than a dozen other music stars for the official kick off of Barack Obama’s presidential inaugural festivities at Washington D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 18.
The free event, which is open to the public, will also be broadcast on HBO and include 19 other performers across various musical genres, including Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, will.i.am, Heather Headley, John Legend, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks, Shakira, and Sheryl Crow.
Queen Latifah, along with Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III and Denzel Washington, will give historical readings at the event, which carries the official title “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.”
The celebration opens a four-day schedule of Inaugural events that will include 10 official Inaugural Balls, as well as an Inauguration-Day-eve youth concert at the Verizon Center.
A number of other music events celebrating Obama’s Inauguration are being planned to take place around Washington D.C. as well, including the Beastie Boys and Sheryl Crow headlining a “Hey, America Feels Kinda Cool Again” event on Jan. 19 at the 9:30 club; WAR and Marc Anthony appearing at the Latino Inaugural Gala at Union Station on Jan. 18; Jay-Z Jan. 19 at the Warner Theatre; and Bela Fleck and Wynton Marsalis performing at CNN’s Inaugural event on Jan. 19 at the Kennedy Center.
Here is the initial music lineup for “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial”:
Beyonce
Mary J. Blige
Bono
Garth Brooks
Sheryl Crow
Renee Fleming
Josh Groban
Herbie Hancock
Heather Headley
John Legend
Jennifer Nettles
John Mellencamp
Usher Raymond IV
Shakira
Bruce Springsteen
James Taylor
will.i.am
Stevie Wonder
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