A PBS special taped in the East Room of the White House celebrating Blues music. President and Mrs. Obama will host the concert event on Tuesday, February 21 in recognition of Black History Month. The evening will include program host Taraji P. Henson and performances by Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Jeff Beck, Gary Clark, Jr., Shemekia Copeland, Buddy Guy, Warren Haynes, Mick Jagger, B.B. King, Keb Mo, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, with Booker T. Jones as music director and band leader. (Program subject to change.)
The event will honor the musical form that sprang from the Mississippi Delta and flourished in the Westside of Chicago with deep roots in Africa and slavery. The performances will explore those roots and pay homage to the great figures of the Blues and the songs they made famous by tracing the influence of the Blues on modern American music from soul to rock’n’roll. The television special is part of the Emmy Award-nominated PBS “In Performance at the White House” series and will premiere Monday, February 27 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings).
