Civil Rights Music Showcase at White House to air on PBS During National Black History Month

WASHINGTON, D.C. — PBS stations nationwide will broadcast on February 11 “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement,” a concert in the White House East Room that WETA will produce.  President and Mrs. Obama will host the event in honor of Black History Month.  The evening will be taped live by WETA Washington, D.C. on February 10 and air on February 11 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings).  The music special, part of the WETA “In Performance at the White House” series, will include Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Seal, Smokey Robinson and the Blind Boys of Alabama, with a complete talent line-up announced in the coming weeks.  This evening event will be pooled press and streamed live on www.whitehouse.gov and www.pbs.org.

“In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement” is a production of WETA Washington, D.C., in association with The GRAMMY Museum, AEG Ehrlich Ventures and the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC).  The executive producers of “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement” are Dalton Delan and David S. Thompson of WETA.  The producers are Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of The GRAMMY Awards; Smokey Robinson, legendary Motown singer, songwriter and producer; and Bob Santelli, executive director of The GRAMMY Museum.  Corporate funding for the program is provided by Pepsi-Cola.  Foundation support is provided by The Annenberg Foundation.  Major funding is also provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS and public television viewers.

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