News And Notes
Jan 14

Inauguration News: Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Sugarland

Faith Hill photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

Faith Hill photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

With Barack Obama’s inauguration less than a week away, Faith Hill, Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus are among the country stars who’ve been added to official Washington, D.C., lineups that celebrate the incoming president.

And while Lee Greenwood, a longtime friend of the Bush family, hasn’t been named to appear at any of the events, there’s strong evidence that his 25-year-old flag-waver “God Bless The U.S.A.” will get an urban renewal during at least one of the ceremonies.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced on Tuesday that Faith is on tap for the Jan. 20 Neighborhood Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center. The event will be presented as an ABC-TV special with Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Jay-Z and Shakira, with more stars expected.

Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus are both slated for the Kids’ Inaugural, which airs Jan. 19 on the Disney Channel. Held at the Verizon Center, that celebration will also feature the Jonas Brothers, Bow Wow and Demi Lovato.

Those events are just the latest D.C. tributes set to feature country’s finest. Garth Brooks and Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles have committed to the biggest: Sunday’s free concert at the Lincoln Memorial, which also offers Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Usher, Sheryl Crow, John Mellencamp, James Taylor and — again — Beyonce. It’s through Ms. Knowles that “God Bless The U.S.A.” is likely to make an appearance at least once.

“Generally speaking,” producer Don Mischer told The Washington Post, “people will be covering other music [than their own], often music that they’ve never performed before.”

Multiple postings can be found on YouTube of a Beyonce version of “God Bless The U.S.A.,” listed under a different title, “Proud To Be An American.” It would not be out of the question for her to sing that song during her time in Washington. Mischer also indicated Jennifer Nettles and James Taylor will be singing “My Country ‘Tis Of Thee” at the Lincoln Memorial, probably with a third performer.

Garth, whose 1992 hit “We Shall Be Free” embraced diversity, is particularly pleased that the Lincoln event will fold in artists from country, rock and hip-hop in a show of cultural unity.

“It is way past the time we should all come together,” he told The Post in a statement. “I will play with respect to the years President Bush has given this country and to the hope of what President-elect Obama will bring to this country and the world.”

Country music also figures elsewhere in the nation’s capital next week. Jack Ingram, Tracy Byrd and the Randy Rogers Band are among a long list of acts slated for the State Society’s Black Tie & Boots Inaugural Ball on Jan. 19, while Rodney Atkins plays another ball the following night.

In other cities, Heidi Newfield will join the Spinners Jan. 19 in Charleston for an inaugural ball celebrating West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, The Huntington Herald-Dispatch reports. And, according to The Midland Reporter-Telegram, Larry Gatlin is the first artist to commit to a Jan. 20 event in Midland welcoming President George W. Bush back to Texas after eight years in the White House.

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Posted at 10:50 pm, January 14, 2009 | Permalink

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