The following is a guest post by Claudia Morales of the Music Division
Country Music Icon and Gershwin Prize Recipient Garth Brooks
“In Conversation with Librarian of Congress,” March 2
Special Guest Trisha Yearwood
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden will host a conversation with GRAMMY Award-winning country music singer and songwriter Garth Brooks and country music artist, actress, author, celebrity chef and wife of Garth, Trisha Yearwood on Monday, March 2 at 7:00 p.m. in the Library of Congress Coolidge Auditorium in the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C.
Brooks will receive the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song on Wednesday, March 4. The country music titan and multiple hall of famer is the youngest recipient of the prestigious prize.
During the conversation, Brooks and Yearwood will discuss their success as a country music power couple, their careers as music industry changemakers and the vast amount of humanitarian projects they devote their efforts to each year. The conversation is being presented as part of the Library’s initiative to Explore America’s Changemakers. You can follow and join in on the #Changemakers conversation via Twitter.
The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required and are available through this event-ticketing site: BrooksYearwoodLOC.eventbrite.com. Tickets will be available beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 20.
PBS stations will broadcast the concert — “Garth Brooks: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song” — at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 29 (check local listings) and on PBS.org and the PBS Video App as part of the co-produced Emmy Award-winning music series. It will be broadcast at a later date to U.S. Department of Defense locations around the world via the American Forces Network.
“Garth Brooks: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song” is a co-production of WETA Washington, D.C.; Bounce, a division of Concord Music Group; and the Library of Congress. Major funding for the broadcast is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS and public television viewers. Additional funding is provided by The Ira and Leonore Gershwin Fund and The Leonore S. Gershwin Trust for the benefit of the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board, Michael Strunsky, Trustee; AARP, Buffy Cafritz and Marjorie Fisher Furman. Air transportation is provided by United Airlines.
The broadcast of the Gershwin Prize tribute concert for Tony Bennett received an Emmy Award for outstanding music direction. The program originally premiered on PBS on Jan. 12, 2018.
About Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks has received every accolade the recording industry can bestow on an artist, including several GRAMMY wins and nominations. He has been named the CMA Entertainer of the Year six times, a first for any performer. He is also the first artist in history to receive seven Diamond Awards for albums certified by the RIAA at more than 10 million album sales each. He remains the No. 1-selling solo artist in U.S. history, certified by the RIAA with more than 148 million album sales. Brooks has been inducted into the International Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame and, most recently, the Musicians Hall of Fame. His tour with Trisha Yearwood sold more than 6.3 million tickets, making it the biggest North American tour in history and the biggest American tour in the world.
About the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honors living musical artists whose lifetime contributions in the field of popular song exemplify the standard of excellence associated with George and Ira Gershwin, by promoting the genre of song as a vehicle of cultural understanding; entertaining and informing audiences; and inspiring new generations of musicians.
In making the selection for the prize, the Librarian of Congress consulted leading members of the music and entertainment communities, as well as curators from the Library’s Music Division, American Folklife Center and Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division.
The Gershwin name is used in connection with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song courtesy of the families of George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin. GERSHWIN® is a registered trademark of Gershwin Enterprises.
About Exploring America’s Changemakers
The Library of Congress is inviting visitors to Explore America’s Changemakers through a series of exhibitions, events and programs. Exhibitions drawing from the Library’s collections explore the fight for women’s suffrage, Rosa Parks’ groundbreaking role in civil rights history and artists’ responses to major issues of the day. Other events throughout the year will explore changemakers through music, performances and public programs.
Changemakers are everywhere. Everyday citizens become trailblazers and history makers, shaping America and making life better. Come discover their stories with us, and be inspired to create new stories of your own.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States – and extensive materials from around the world – both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.