Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder and U2’s Bono and the Edge are among the music stars who will perform on Thursday at the grand opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, where the former president spent years working as a community organizer and politician.
“We are bringing together some of today’s most prominent voices and global icons for the Obama Presidential Center Grand Opening Ceremony,” the Obama Foundation announced in a Wednesday social media post, which you can see below. “The festivities will livestream globally at 11 a.m. CT, Thursday, June 18 — don’t miss it!”
Other performers helping to open the library, museum and educational center include Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Common, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Marc Anthony and the Roots. The ceremony will also feature remarks and special appearances by actor Marsai Martin, Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett and board chair Marty Nesbitt, as well as an invocation led by Pastor Joel Hunter and spiritual leader Joshua DuBois.
READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen’s 10 Strongest Political Songs
You can tune into the livestream on Thursday at obama.org.
These Rockers Have Long-Running Ties to Obama
The rockers tapped to perform at the Barack Obama Presidential Center’s grand opening have plenty of history with the former president. In 2021, Springsteen and Obama published Renegades: Born in the USA, a book comprising “candid, intimate and entertaining conversations” inspired by the duo’s Renegades podcast series.
Obama is also a noted fan of U2, having frequently used their “City of Blinding Lights” as walk-on music throughout his presidential campaign and two terms in office. And Vedder, who was born in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, performed ahead of the president’s farewell address in 2017.
See our gallery of rockers with presidents below:
Rockers With Presidents
A number of these pairings run along straight political lines but at least one act proved to be an equal-opportunity shutterbug.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
