We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial was a public celebration of the then forthcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States at the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 2009. By some estimates the attendance was over 400,000.[1]
The event was produced by George Stevens and Don Mischer and directed by Mischer. [2] Rob Mathes of the Kennedy Center Honors served as musical director. A backing band used by many of the artists was in the orchestra pit, and featured veteran session drummer Kenny Aronoff.[3]
The concert featured performances by (in alphabetical order) Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Jon Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Renée Fleming, Caleb Green, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, Bettye LaVette, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Jennifer Nettles, Pete Seeger, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, U2, Usher, will.i.am and Stevie Wonder.[4] Several of the songs performed had been used by Obama's presidential campaign.[5]
The concert also featured readings of historical passages by Jack Black, Steve Carell, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Foxx, Tom Hanks, Samuel L. Jackson, Ashley Judd, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah, Laura Linney, George Lopez, Kal Penn, Marisa Tomei, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker and Tiger Woods.[4][6][7]
- ^ Hendrix, Steve; Mummolo, Jonathan (January 18, 2009). "Jamming on the Mall for Obama". The Washington Post.
- ^ Gallo, Phil (January 18, 2009). "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration". Variety. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ "Aronoff ready to play star-studded Obama celebration". Herald Times. January 11, 2009. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013.
- ^ a b Gallo, Phil (January 18, 2009). "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration". Variety. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ Lamb, Nicola (January 20, 2009). "Masses pour into Washington to witness history in the making". The New Zealand Herald.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
WAOwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Daunt, Tina (January 13, 2009). "Letting the trumpets, and electric guitars, herald Barack Obama". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
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