Country music star Garth Brooks will perform at President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration Wednesday.
Brooks was asked to perform during the swearing-in part of the ceremony by Jill Biden, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Brooks made the decision to perform Sunday, the outlet reported. The Presidential Inaugural Committee confirmed the decision in a press conference Monday.
Country music icon Garth Brooks will perform at President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ inauguration on Wednesday https://t.co/Xd2ZhziUUk
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 18, 2021
“This is a great day in our household, this is not a political statement, this is a statement of unity,” Brooks said in a statement, according to the outlet. “This is history, and it is an honor to get to serve.” (RELATED: Garth Brooks Shares New Song Focused On Unity: ‘We Belong To Each Other’)
“There is a common theme in every presidential election: New beginnings, new starts, but it is the word unity, the word love, the word that we belong to each other. It is going to take all of us, what I want for all of us to do is listen,” Brooks reportedly added. “We are more divided than ever, that bridge that brings us together, it is reaching across, loving one another, because that is what is going to get us through the most divided times that we have.”
Brooks has performed for every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter, besides Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. Brooks missed out on Trump’s inauguration due to a scheduling conflict, according to The Hollywood Reporter.