This year, instead of hosting the typical concerts, parades, and balls, the Biden Inauguration Committee has prepared a star-studded lineup of musical performances to ring in the historic administration. Countless artists across all genres have come together to create a week of virtual and in-person events to celebrate this new era of American politics and unity. Most festivities are being held online due to COVID-19 restrictions, and all are subject to change due to uncertainty in D.C. following the riots at the US Capitol on January 6th. 

The Biden inauguration celebration began this past Sunday with the We the People virtual concert. This event, which was hosted to raise money for the Biden Inauguration Committee, included performances from a variety of artists including Fall Out Boy, AJR, Carole King, Will.I.Am, James Taylor, and more. This concert was followed by the United We Serve celebration on Monday, January 18th, to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which featured musicians such as Aloe Blacc, Diane Warren, Andra Day, and Yo-Yo Ma. You can watch this event here. 

The eve of Joe Biden’s inauguration will feature the We Are One YouTube event to celebrate black community and creatives, with appearances from Tobe Nwigwe, DJ D-Nice, Rapsody, and more. Tuesday will also host the Latino Inaugural Event, where musicians like Ivy Queen, Becky G, and Los Tigres del Norte will honor the Latino community’s involvement in Joe Biden’s historic election. You can watch these performances on Peacock, Telemundo’s app and website, and any Univision News digital platform.  

The Biden administration announced on Thursday that Lady Gaga, who has been vocally supportive of the democratic party throughout the 2020 campaign, has been given the distinguished job of performing the national anthem at the Biden inauguration. This will be followed by musical performances from Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks, who is returning to the D.C. stage after Obama’s swearing-in in 2012. This ceremony will be live-streamed on the Biden Inauguration website, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch on Wednesday, January 20th starting at 9am PST. 

To close out the week’s celebrations and ring in the new administration, Tom Hanks will be hosting Celebrating America on Wednesday evening on ABC, CNN, NBC, CBS, and MSNBC. This event will feature performances from Demi Lovato, Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Jon Bon Jovi, the Foo Fighters, and more, and intends to “celebrate our country’s rich diversity and resilience,” according to Bruce Springsteen on Twitter.

2021 Grammy’s Postponed

Mercury Studios, which is a part of Universal Music Group, has announced that they will be making a special documentary about the world famous recording studio Abbey Road. This documentary titled, If These Walls Could Sing, will be directed by none other than Mary McCartney, Paul McCartney’s daughter.

The documentary will provide viewers with a behind the scenes tour of the studio along with a history of the famous space and it’s most illustrious guests. Some of the biggest names in the music industry have recorded there and some of the most famous albums of all time have come out of Abbey Road Studios. The final studio album by The Beatles was named Abbey Road after the street that the studio is located on. In turn, the studio formerly known as EMI recording studios was renamed Abbey Road Studios to pay tribute to the global superstar band. The Beatles may have put the recording studio on the map but since then artists such as Pink Floyd, Florence + The Machine, The Cranberries, Kanye West, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Oasis, Amy Winehouse, Adele and Lady Gaga have recorded there. 

If These Walls Could Sing will be released in November of 2021 which will coincide with the studio’s 90th anniversary. 

2021 Grammys Postponed

The 2021 Grammys which were originally scheduled to take place January 31st, will be postponed until March 14th, 2021 due to recent COVID related concerns surrounding the city of Los Angeles. It was announced January 5th by the Recording Academy, the organization that is in charge of setting up the award ceremony, in a joint statement with CBS that the most anticipated music award ceremony of the year would be postponed. 

“The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, with hospital services being overwhelmed, ICUs having reached capacity, and new guidance from state and local governments have all led us to conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do.”

The Recording Academy was originally planning to host the Grammys without spectators or nominated artists and only having those that are scheduled to present an award or perform in attendance. This still appears to be the plan for the Academy to meet social distancing and other COVID requirements for the show. 

This will be a strange music award ceremony to cap off a strange year for sure. Some of the biggest names in the music industry have been nominated for the 2021 Grammys including: Post Malone, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, Black Pumas, Coldplay, Phoebe Bridgers, Noah Cyrus, Harry Styles, Doja Cat, Lady Gaga and many many more.

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