{"id":2481965,"date":"2026-06-30T15:13:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2481965"},"modified":"2026-06-30T15:13:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:13:57","slug":"obama-presidential-center-reveals-star-studded-performer-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/obama-presidential-center-reveals-star-studded-performer-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama Presidential Center reveals star-studded performer list"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div id=\"videoWrap\" class=\"spacer-large videoWrap\" style=\"position:relative\">\n<div id=\"uwVideoPlaceholder\" slot=\"placeholder\" style=\"z-index:19;width:100%;padding-bottom:56.25%;position:relative\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;width:100%;height:100%;z-index:2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2026\/06\/03\/USAT\/90385768007-obama-center-02.jpg?crop=2999,1687,x0,y0\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"vidplaybtn\" style=\"display:-moz-box;display:-ms-flexbox;display:-webkit-flex;display:flex;background-color:rgba(0,0,0,.4);border:2px solid #fff;border-radius:80px;cursor:pointer;height:80px;width:80px;position:absolute;top:50%;left:50%;transform:translate(-50%,-50%);z-index:10\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"vidplayicon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/appservices\/universal-web\/universal\/icons\/icon-play-alt-white.svg\" alt=\"play\" style=\"height:40px;margin:auto 18px auto 27px;width:40px\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div slot=\"videoDetails\" id=\"videoDetails\" class=\"videoDetails\" style=\"padding-top:8px;padding-bottom:8px\">\n<div id=\"videoDetailsContainer\" class=\"videoDetailsContainer\" hidden=\"\">\n<p>See inside the Obama Presidential Center ahead of its grand opening<\/p>\n<p>USA TODAY reporter Kinsey Crowley explored the new Barack Obama Presidential Center ahead of its grand opening on June 19th.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/music\/2026\/05\/19\/obama-songs-music-essay-united-states\/90167774007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Former President Barack Obama<\/a> has called on several <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/celebrities\/2026\/06\/18\/obama-presidential-center-opening-celebrities-livestream\/90606177007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">high-profile friends<\/a> to celebrate the opening of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/06\/18\/obama-presidential-center-opening-ceremony--live\/90596837007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">his new presidential center in Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Obama Foundation on June 16 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DZqOuKmRf0S\/?hl=en\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">announced<\/a> a lineup of performances from &#8220;global icons&#8221; for the grand opening ceremony of the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/style\/2026\/06\/17\/michelle-obama-skirt-mother-portrait\/90587121007\/\" data-type=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/style\/2026\/06\/17\/michelle-obama-skirt-mother-portrait\/90587121007\/\">Obama Presidential Center<\/a> on Thursday, June 18. The dedication will kick off the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/grandopeningfaq.obama.org\/hc\/en-us\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">grand opening weekend festivities<\/a> over the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/2026\/06\/15\/did-trump-cancel-juneteenth-when-is-it-is-it-federal-holiday\/90557373007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Juneteenth<\/a> weekend, June 19-21.<\/p>\n<p>The livestreamed ceremony promises to be a &#8220;celebration of the values that shaped the Obama presidency,&#8221; including the &#8220;power to create change.&#8221; It will be available for viewing starting at noon ET\/9 a.m. PT.<\/p>\n<p>One major omission from what will likely be a star-studded guest list is President <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-autotag=\"26f031d1-9924-4f10-b4e6-019d076113d5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/news\/politics\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump<\/a>, who&#8217;d <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116115155092371431\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">bashed<\/a> the estimated $850 million center as a &#8220;total disaster&#8221; in a social media post. However, the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/06\/04\/donald-trump-obama-presidential-center-opening\/90264136007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Obama Foundation told USA TODAY<\/a> Trump was &#8220;welcome&#8221; to visit and tour the grounds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"related-link\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong style=\"margin-right:3px\">See which stars <\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/celebrities\/2026\/06\/18\/obama-presidential-center-opening-celebrities-livestream\/90606177007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">are at the Obama Presidential Center debut<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The 19-acre campus, located in Chicago&#8217;s South Side, is home to a Chicago Public Library branch, a playground, a sledding hill, a cafe and restaurant, an athletic center, community spaces and a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/05\/06\/obama-presidential-center-museum-tickets-on-sale-chicago-how-to-get-yours\/89961172007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ticketed museum<\/a> that breaks from the traditional presidential library model.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s who is confirmed to perform at the Obama Presidential Center&#8217;s June 18 grand opening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"related-link\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong style=\"margin-right:3px\">Obama Presidential Center debut: <\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/06\/18\/obama-presidential-center-opening-ceremony--live\/90596837007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Live updates on star-studded ceremony<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"related-link\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong style=\"margin-right:3px\">Inside Obama&#8217;s Presidential Center: <\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/06\/15\/inside-the-new-obama-presidential-center\/90472735007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">What the details reveal about race, place \u2013 and him<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 wp-block-heading\">Who is performing at the Obama Presidential Center opening ceremony?<\/h2>\n<p>The following <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/picture-gallery\/entertainment\/music\/2026\/06\/18\/obama-center-music-performances-photos\/90612205007\/\">artists<\/a> will take the stage during the presidential center&#8217;s grand opening:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bruce Springsteen<\/li>\n<li>Christina Aguilera<\/li>\n<li>Common<\/li>\n<li>Eddie Vedder<\/li>\n<li>Jennifer Hudson<\/li>\n<li>John Legend<\/li>\n<li>Marsai Martin<\/li>\n<li>Marc Anthony<\/li>\n<li>Stevie Wonder<\/li>\n<li>Tems<\/li>\n<li>The Roots<\/li>\n<li>U2&#8217;s Bono and The Edge<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 wp-block-heading\">How Obama&#8217;s ceremony compares to Trump&#8217;s Freedom 250 events<\/h2>\n<p>After <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/2026\/05\/29\/great-american-state-fair-which-musical-acts-have-not-canceled\/90310426007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">nearly all of the scheduled performers backed out<\/a> of Trump&#8217;s\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/2026\/05\/27\/great-american-state-fair-2026-music-lineup-milli-vanilli-commodores-flo-rida\/90278218007\/\">Great American State Fair<\/a> in May, the president announced country singer Lee Greenwood, who previously performed his 1984 hit &#8220;God Bless The U.S.A&#8221; during <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/music\/2025\/01\/15\/trump-inauguration-performers-music-anthem\/77719228007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Trump&#8217;s inauguration ceremony<\/a>, would sing the track at a June 24 rally on the National Mall. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/05\/30\/trump-great-american-state-fair-speech-freedom-250\/90330854007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The president will headline the event<\/a> and give a speech.<\/p>\n<p>Country star Martina McBride and R&amp;B group The Commodores were among the acts that denounced the partisan nature of the event as they withdrew from the series of concerts. The fair is being organized by Freedom 250,\u00a0a\u00a0nonprofit group\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/news\/politics\/donald-trump\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Trump<\/a>\u00a0created\u00a0to\u00a0plan the semiquincentennial celebration.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,&#8221; McBride wrote in a May 28 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/martinamcbride\/status\/2060150008045822053\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">X post<\/a>. &#8220;I asked lots of questions and was assured this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party. We support the betterment of all Americans,&#8221; The Commodores wrote in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thecommodores\/p\/DY5RWcpAXmm\/?hl=en\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">an Instagram post<\/a> shared that same day.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Vanilla Ice remained committed to going forward with his performance, and Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/05\/fab-morvan-milli-vanilli-great-american-state-fair\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">confirmed<\/a> he would still take part in the I Love the &#8217;90s Tour because &#8220;I am here to entertain and unite people, not divide them,&#8221; he said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Trump also announced the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/ufc\/2026\/06\/14\/ufc-freedom-250-white-house-live-results-fights-topuria-gaethje--live\/90514690007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">UFC Freedom 250 MMA event<\/a> that took place on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14, 2026, coinciding with the president&#8217;s birthday. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/music\/2026\/06\/14\/zac-brown-ufc-freedom-250-performance-politics\/90552976007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Zac Brown Band performed the national anthem<\/a>, and other stars who took part included comedians <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/entertainment\/celebrities\/2026\/06\/16\/nate-bargatze-trump-white-house-ufc-fight\/90569424007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nate Bargatze<\/a>, Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe, as well as singers Luke Bryan and Kid Rock.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usatoday.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>See inside the Obama Presidential Center ahead of its grand opening USA TODAY reporter Kinsey Crowley explored the new Barack Obama Presidential Center ahead of its grand opening on June 19th. Former President Barack Obama has called on several high-profile friends to celebrate the opening of his new presidential center in Chicago. The Obama Foundation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2481966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[39915,431666,22220,420115,22466,305469,349303,28851,21751,239390,308694,378237,305298,424208,488623,22005,305457,22389,6297,407707,352032,21741,22034,239348,305468,305473,363957,314544,22491,370065,317385,42175,350113,456610,380646,22240,239389,24392,21739,298114,211924,21738,30600,346675,239343,239453,22048,434690,349304,413303,324405,24638,239344,407708,400833],"class_list":["post-2481965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-affiliate","tag-aguilera","tag-arts","tag-barack","tag-barack-obama","tag-branch","tag-bruce","tag-bruce-springsteen","tag-celebrities","tag-celebrities-u0026-entertainment-news","tag-chicago","tag-christina","tag-christina-aguilera","tag-common","tag-common-rapper","tag-concerts","tag-donald","tag-donald-trump","tag-eamotion","tag-eddie","tag-eddie-vedder","tag-entertainment","tag-events","tag-events-u0026-listings","tag-executive","tag-executive-branch","tag-hudson","tag-il","tag-instagram","tag-jennifer","tag-jennifer-hudson","tag-john","tag-john-legend","tag-juneteenth","tag-legend","tag-life","tag-life-now","tag-listings","tag-local","tag-local-affiliate-arts-u0026-entertainment","tag-neutral","tag-news","tag-now","tag-obama","tag-overall","tag-overall-neutral","tag-politics","tag-rapper","tag-springsteen","tag-stevie","tag-stevie-wonder","tag-trump","tag-u0026","tag-vedder","tag-wonder"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Obama-Presidential-Center-reveals-star-studded-performer-list-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2481965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2481965"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2481965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2481967,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2481965\/revisions\/2481967"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2481966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2481965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2481965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2481965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}