White House concert to star Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Seal

Thu 28 Jan 2010

US President Barack Obama and wife Michelle will host “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement” on Wednesday 10 February.

Mrs Obama made the announcement earlier this week, revealing that performers at the concert will include the legendary Bob Dylan, who has never performed at The White House before. The line-up also includes: Natalie Cole, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Smokey Robinson, Seal, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Jennifer Hudson.

Hosted by actors Morgan Freeman and Queen Latifah, the concert will be streamed live online on whitehouse.gov.

The US President was on hand late last year to witness the John F. Kennedy Centre For The Performing Arts “Kennedy Center Honours” tribute, which honoured jazz musician Dave Brubeck and New Jersey rocker Bruce Springsteen. Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Sting, Melissa Etheridge and Ben Harper all performed E Street Band classics at the Kennedy Honours. “We must remember”, Obama joked as he introduced the “Born To Run” singer, “I’m the President but he’s The Boss”.

Stevie Wonder was also honoured recently during an “In Performance” session at White House, the first of Obama’s presidency.