Inauguration Day Concerts Continue Into the Night

As of Sunday night, it seems the biggest concert promoter in the country may as well be President-Elect Obama. Live Nation, Superfly Entertainment, AEG Live -none of them seem to stand a chance after the events of the past several days.

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Beginning Sunday evening at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., a series of festivities kicked off that continues until President-Elect Obama’s official Inauguration concert on Tuesday night. Elvis Costello and Sting are set to headline President Obama’s official gala and ticket prices are said to start at $10,000 a piece. Unfortunately, there are no tickets available at this point as the event is sold out.

For those who couldn’t afford such a hefty ticket price, Sunday’s concert from the Lincoln Memorial was free and telecast on HBO. Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks and U2 were just a few of the star performers at the event. The event also featured readings by actors such as Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks that contained portions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

The festivities were only getting started as Monday featured several different concerts set to take place throughout Washington, D.C. Jay-Z was slated for In Concert on the Eve of Change. The Beastie Boys, Sheryl Crow and Citizen Cope were performing at the Hey: America Feels Kinda Cool Again Inaugural Gala at the famed 9:30 Club, and a very interesting billing at the Warner Theater featured Nas, Josh Groban, Slash and Robert Randolph among those performing at the Heroes Red, White and Blue Inaugural Ball.

Besides President-Elect Obama’s official concert on Tuesday night, other concerts scheduled that evening include Ludacris, Big Boi from Outkast, Chakha Kahn and George Clinton. President-Elect Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States at noon on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.