Musician Jon Batiste to perform for Emmanuel Macron at Joe Biden’s first state dinner
- The black-tie dinner for French President Macron at the White House on Thursday will highlight long-standing ties between the United States and France
- Batiste, recently bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, won five Grammy Awards this year, including for album of the year for We Are
Musician Jon Batiste is to perform at US President Joe Biden’s first White House state dinner on Thursday that will highlight long-standing ties between the United States and France and honour French President Emmanuel Macron.
“An artist who transcends generations, Jon Batiste’s music inspires and brings people together,” said Vanessa Valdivia, a spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden, whose office is overseeing dinner preparations.
“We’re thrilled to have him perform at the White House for the first state dinner of the Biden-Harris administration,” Valdivia said.
The black-tie dinner for Macron will be part of what is shaping up to be a busy social season at the White House. The Bidens’ granddaughter Naomi was married on the South Lawn earlier this month. And first lady Jill Biden was set on Monday to unveil the White House decorations that will be viewed by thousands of visitors over the next month.
Batiste will be adding White House entertainer to an already long list of roles, including recording artist, bandleader, musical director, film composer, museum creative director and scion of New Orleans musical royalty.
He won five Grammy Awards this year, including for album of the year for We Are. During the awards show in April, Batiste ended his dance-filled performance of Freedom by jumping up on Billie Eilish’s table.
Batiste, 36, most recently was bandleader and musical director of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, leaving the show after a seven-year run.
Batiste composed music, consulted on and arranged songs for Pixar’s animated film Soul. He won a Golden Globe for the music alongside Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails. The trio also earned the Academy Award for best original score. For their work on Soul, Batiste, Reznor and Ross won the Grammy for best score soundtrack for visual media.
The Washington Post newspaper was first to report that Batiste will perform at the dinner.
