The Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress was home to rock royalty on Tuesday night as Sir Paul McCartney played an intimate private concert to celebrate being named the third recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Overseen by James H. Billington, the ibrarian of Congress, the gathering was a run up to Wednesday’s official ceremony at the White House and clearly was one of the hottest tickets in town, as the room was filled with famous faces from music and Hollywood along with a sizable contingent from Congress.
Among the musical heavyweights in attendance were Herbie Hancock, Paul Simon, the Jonas brothers, Faith Hill, Elvis Costello, Dave Grohl, Stevie Wonder, Jack White, and Emmylou Harris. Lorne Michaels and Jerry Seinfeld, the official ceremony's M.C., were also on hand to celebrate McCartney.
Though many of the music stars were in town to perform in the East Room tribute concert on Wednesday (which airs July 28 on PBS), Tuesday night had its own lineup: The Loma Mar Quartet, who worked with McCartney for his “Working Classical” album, and Chinese pianist Lang Lang opened for McCartney, who took to the stage and performed acoustic versions of “Yesterday” and “Blackbird.”
Following the concert, all of the attendees were ushered into the Great Hall for the gala dinner. While McCartney and several high-profile guests dined at a rectangular head table, the rest of the guests sat at round tables with rose, peony, and ranunculus centerpieces from Grand Floral and Design. The vegetarian four-course meal—McCartney is a strict vegetarian—was catered by Grand Cuisine Caterers.
