Garth Brooks Performs ‘Amazing Grace’ at Biden Inauguration

Garth Brooks was on hand to perform at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday (Jan. 20) at the swearing-in ceremony of Joe Biden, the 46th President of the United States.

Brooks was welcomed to the podium wearing a mask and his signature black cowboy hat and removed both prior to delivering a soaring rendition of “Amazing Grace” alongside the U.S. Marine Band. 

Following his performance of the Christian hymn, Brooks made his way over to Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden to shake their hands. He also took time to hug former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and George W. Bush. 

.@garthbrooks performs “Amazing Grace” at #Inauguration2021 pic.twitter.com/veeSqgp3MV

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 20, 2021

The country superstar was one of three artists who had the opportunity to perform at the inauguration, including Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez. 

Brooks received the invitation to perform directly from Biden and the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden. The Oklahoma native glady accepted the inviation and called the opportunity to perform on the historic day an “honor.” 

“My job is pretty simple. My job is when they point to me, to get to do what I was put down here on this Earth to do and that’s sing music in a celebration in an honorable day in this country where the new president takes over,” Brooks told Country Now and other media earlier this week. “It’s a beautiful day for all of us in the fact that hope, the future, that’s kind of what we get to focus on and it’s a tribute to say thank you for those people who kind of dedicate their lives to this country. Past presidents, future presidents, can you imagine, you’re going to pretty much just say no to everything else and yes to your country to do this job. The least that I can do is grab my guitar, get up there, and play when they point to me and just consider it the greatest honor that you can have as a musician in the greatest country in the world.”

Brooks previously performed “We Shall Be Free” during Barack Obama’s inaugural event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 2009. 

Inauguration celebrations will continue tonight with the primetime special Celebrating America, which will be hosted by Tom Hanks and will air on Wednesday (Jan. 20) from 8:30-10:00 p.m. EST. Demi Lovato, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Tim McGraw w/ Tyler Hubbard, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Ozuna, Luis Fonsi, Jon Bon Jovi, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Foo Fighters, John Legend, Ant Clemons and more are set to perform during Joe Biden’s inaugural concert special. Kerry Washington, Eva Longoria, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chef José Andrés, Dolores Huerta and Kim Ng will also appear. 

 The primetime event will air on BidenInaugural.org as well as on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and MSNBC. It also live-stream on PIC’s YouTube, Facebook, Twitter. The PIC’s streaming partners, including Amazon Prime Video, Microsoft Bing, NewsNOW from Fox, and AT&T U-verse (Channel 212/1212 in SD/HD) and DIRECTV (Channel 201).