Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley + More to Sing at the White House
Country music will once again provide the soundtrack for the nation's capital. Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Lauren Alaina, the Band Perry, Alison Krauss, Kris Kristofferson, Lyle Lovett and James Taylor are all scheduled to play for the President, First Lady and invited guests when 'Country Music: In Performance at the White House' is taped on Monday (Nov. 21).
An afternoon workshop will be held with some of the artists for 120 local students, discussing country music history and its significance in popular culture. The 2:00 PM workshop and 7:00 PM concert will both be broadcast live here. The concert will also air on PBS on Wednesday (Nov. 23) at 8:00 PM (all times Eastern).
'In Performance at the White House' has aired on PBS stations since 1978, with every president since Jimmy Carter hosting entertainers from multiple music genres. Since President Obama took office, the series has spotlighted the music of Motown, Broadway and Latin America, as well as a previous country-music concert, which included performances by Brad Paisley, Alison Krauss and Charley Pride.
The Nov. 21 concert will hold special meaning for Dierks, who not only had his name mentioned by the Commander-in-Chief during a White House concert in 2009, but also had a private meeting with the President while in Washington to perform a concert last year.