GAC Special Features President Obama, Brad Paisley, Alison Krauss & Charley Pride

On Tuesday, July 21, 2009 Brad Paisley along with Alison Krauss + Union Station performed for the President, First Lady and family, members of Congress and White House staff in the historic East Room of the White House. Photo credit Ben Enos.
Country at the White House, featuring Brad Paisley, premieres on Saturday, Aug. 15 at 9p ET! More details and times »

August 3, 2009 — GAC is the only place to see exclusive coverage of command performances by Brad Paisley, Alison Krauss and Charley Pride, who recently shared their flawless talents and great love for country music with an invitation-only White House audience. Country at the White House premieres Saturday, August 15, 9 p.m. Eastern and will give fans a front row seat to both the afternoon educational workshop and evening concert events.

Created by First Lady Michelle Obama to encourage arts and arts education, the country music event was the second in a series that launched in June. More than 125 students – including 40 from Nashville’s W.O. Smith Music School – gathered in the White House Grand Dining Room for an afternoon workshop that included a Q & A and performances by Brad and Alison. GAC host Storme Warren was in the heart of it, interviewing both stars about this once in a lifetime experience. "What could be better?" Alison told him. "Art changes the world."

Among those joining the first family in the East Room for the evening’s concert were Senators Barbara Boxer, Lindsey Graham, Claire McCaskill and Lamar Alexander; Press Secretary Robert Gibbs; Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett; Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and news anchor Bob Schieffer. Music City was represented by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, Congressman Jim Cooper and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean.

In his welcoming remarks, President Obama noted that country music has impacted our nation. "It’s touched countless lives, it’s influenced all genres of music," he said. "It’s helped make the American people more hopeful."

Hope is what inspired Brad's current hit single, "Welcome to the Future," which he wrote based on his observations from Times Square on election night, November 4. "To have a song about the times we’re living in and the effect of an election and how its changed life and politics as we know it and to get to play it to this man (Obama) is surreal beyond belief." Brad said. "Over the next few days, it will be wild to think about this."

"Having the honor of being part of this historic country music event at the White House was a once in a lifetime experience for me," said Ed Hardy, GAC president and W.O. Smith Music School board member. "It’s quite appropriate that it was shared with such extraordinarily talented artists and friends - Brad, Alison and Charley - as well as the W.O. Smith students and staff. GAC is proud to be the only outlet able to share this intimate and exclusive evening with our viewers."

Tune in to Country at the White House on August 15 and enjoy America’s music with America’s first family. Click here to see a sneak peek!