President and Mrs. Obama host an all-star tribute to art and literature in American musical forms.

President and Mrs. Obama host an all-star music tribute from the East Room, celebrating the cultural resonance of art and literature in unique American musical forms. The program features performances by Buddy Guy, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Audra McDonald, Keb’ Mo’, Smokey Robinson, Trombone Shorty, Esperanza Spalding, Brian Stokes Mitchell, James Taylor and Usher, with special readings and remarks from Carol Burnett (program subject to change). The event commemorates the 50th anniversary of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on September 29, 1965. The act called for the creation of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as separate, independent agencies, the culmination of a movement calling for the federal government to invest in culture.