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John Legend, Garth Brooks, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake And More To Perform

Lady Gaga will perform the national anthem for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Jan. 20.
Neilson Barnard
/
Getty Images
Lady Gaga will perform the national anthem for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Jan. 20.

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will make history during Wednesday's inauguration: Biden will become the oldest president in American history, while Harris will be the first Black woman and the first Asian American to hold the office of vice president.

Musicians from all genres plan to greet the Biden-Harris administration, with performances from Jennifer Lopez, Earth, Wind & Fire, John Legend and more. The complete list of performances is below.

Inaugural Ceremony, 12 p.m. ET

Irish concert violinist Patricia Treacy will perform for Biden and his immediate family during a private Mass before the inauguration. Treacy made her soloist debut at New York's Carnegie Hall in 2009 and has previously performed for Biden on numerous occasions.

Lady Gaga will perform "The Star-Spangled Banner" during the swearing-in ceremony. Gaga regularly showed up on Biden's campaign trail ahead of last year's election.

Jennifer Lopez will deliver a musical performance. Lopez, along with her partner, former baseball major leaguer Alex Rodriguez, endorsed Biden ahead of the election. Lopez and Rodriguez joined Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, for a virtual conversation about the importance of the Latino community.

Garth Brooks, country music superstar and one of the world's bestselling music artists, will also perform. Brooks has performed for every president since Bill Clinton (except for Donald Trump). In 2009, he sang "We Shall Be Free" at Barack Obama's inauguration, when Biden was sworn in as vice president.

This ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, MSNBC and PBS and is scheduled to stream at BidenInaugural.org/watch and on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, Amazon's Prime Video, Microsoft Bing, NewsNow from Fox and AT&T U-verse.

Home States Inauguration Celebration, 2 p.m. ET

Jeff Bradshaw, a soul-jazz trombonist and an innovator of hip-hop funk, will perform with the All Call Band during the official inauguration celebration from Biden's home state of Pennsylvania. Bradshaw endorsed Biden ahead of the election.

Low Cut Connie, a Philly-based rock-and-roll band, will perform as well.
RSVPs are required for this free event, which will stream here.

Parade Across America, 3:15 p.m. ET

New Radicals, the alternative rock band, will reunite for the first time in 22 years to perform in this multicommunity event highlighting America's heroes. The band will perform "You Get What You Give," its 1998 hit single, which resurfaced on the 2020 campaign trail.

DJ Cassidy's Pass the Mic, a series from DJ Cassidy, the first to DJ a presidential inauguration, in 2009, will feature:

  • Earth, Wind & Fire, six-time Grammy Award-winning multigenre supergroup best known for "September"
  • Andra Day, two-time Grammy-nominated R&B singer-songwriter
  • Nile Rodgers, co-founder of Chic
  • Kathy Sledge, founding member of vocal group Sister Sledge
  • The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, the first all trans-identified chorus in America
  • The Washington Chorus, two-time Grammy Award-winning choral ensemble
  • The Triumph Baptist Church Choir of Philadelphia
  • Nathan Apodaca, the skateboarding sensation @420doggface208 (known for his viral video celebrating Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams") will provide some good vibes.

    Ethan Bensdorf, New York Philharmonic trumpeter, will duet with 12-year-old Jason Zgonc, who performed for hospital workers throughout this past summer.

    Mama Mikki Stevens, an 80-year-old performer from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, will lead the community-service-oriented musical-comedy performance organization Red Hot Mamas.

    This special will stream at BidenInaugural.org/watch and on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Twitch.

    "Celebrating America" Prime-Time Special, 8:30 p.m. ET

    Jon Bon Jovi, founder and frontman of the eponymous, Grammy Award-winning '80s rock band Bon Jovi, will perform during this 90-minute special, to be hosted by Tom Hanks. His performance follows the release of 2020, perhaps his most politically outspoken album, and significant time spent campaigning for Biden.

    John Legend, soul singer and EGOT'd pianist, will perform. Legend has been a longtime advocate of Biden.

    Foo Fighters will perform. Founder and frontman Dave Grohl endorsed Biden during a conversation with the latter's wife about the importance of education last October.

    Katy Perry, pop singer-songwriter, will perform. Perry has been a longtime supporter of Biden.

    Bruce Springsteen
    , 20-time Grammy Award-winning rock-and-roll singer-songwriter, will perform. Springsteen endorsed Biden ahead of last year's election and narrated his "Hometown" campaign ad.

    Demi Lovato, singer and actress, will perform. Lovato has been a vocal critic of President Trump and endorsed Biden ahead of the election.

    Justin Timberlake, pop singer and record producer, will duet "Better Days" with songwriter Ant Clemons. The duo premiered their song last month at Stacey Abrams' Rock the Runoff virtual concert fundraiser.

    This special will broadcast live on ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, MSNBC and PBS. It will stream at BidenInaugural.org/watch and on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, Amazon's Prime Video, Microsoft Bing, NewsNow from Fox and AT&T U-verse.

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    LaTesha Harris is NPR Music's editorial assistant. A relentless jack-of-all-trades, she takes turns writing, editing and producing music coverage. Invested in the culture behind pop, hip-hop and R&B, her work highlights the intersection between identity and history. Once in a blue moon, Harris moonlights as a talking head with no filter.