Music

Roots, Eddie Vedder, and More Perform at Obama Presidential Center Opening

Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, and Christina Aguilera also joined the Roots and Eddie Vedder for the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

Rolling Stone·Jun 18, 2026·via Rolling Stone

Obama Fest

See the Roots, Eddie Vedder, and More Perform at Obama Presidential Center Opening Ceremony

Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, and more also on hand for opening of Obama Presidential Center and Library in Chicago

By Daniel Kreps

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June 18, 2026

The Obama Presidential Center and Library opened Thursday in Chicago, with its grand opening ceremony touting a guest list that could rival any music festival: Bruce Springsteen, U2’s Bono and the Edge, the Roots , Stevie Wonder, and more.

The Roots kicked the proceedings with a funky rendition of jazz great Donald Byrd’s “Change (Makes You Want to Hustle)” that segued into their own “You Got Me” and later transformed into a bluesy take on Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up.” The Roots then kept the party going with a cover of Kool & The Gang’s “Jungle Boogie.”

EGOT winner and Chicago native Jennifer Hudson was also on hand to deliver the national anthem as well as The Man of La Mancha ’s iconic “The Impossible Dream (The Quest),” which Hudson previously performed at a 2009 NAACP tribute to Muhammad Ali.

Christina Aguilera was the next artist to take the stage, and performed a song that was one of the Obamas’ favorites, even though she had never performed it live before: Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” with Aguilera putting a new arrangement on the often-covered classic.

Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder , a native of Chicago and a diehard Cubs fan, linked up with local musical non-profit Guitars Over Guns to debut a new song he wrote with the teens, “Better Believe.”