Memphis Soul: In Performance at the White House premiered 16th April and you can watch it here including performances from Alabama Shakes, William Bell, Steve Cropper, Ben Harper, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper, Joshua Ledet, Sam Moore, Charlie Musselwhite, Mavis Staples, Justin Timberlake & Booker T. Jones serves as music director and band leader.

This series of performance specials at the White House presents the best of American performing arts. From the Broadway musical to opera, country and western, gospel, ballet, jazz and more, the series has featured the extraordinary richness of American music and dance.

President and Mrs Obama host a celebration of the Memphis soul music with performances from Alabama Shakes, William Bell, Steve Cropper, Ben Harper, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper, Joshua Ledet, Sam Moore, Charlie Musselwhite, Mavis Staples, Justin Timberlake plus more. Booker T. Jones serves as music director and band leader. 

The all-star concert honours the memorable soul sounds from the mid- to late-1960s that came from Memphis, Tennessee, and legendary labels like Stax Records, which featured artists such as Al Green, Mavis Staples, Carla Thomas, Otis Redding and many more.

The evening pays homage to Memphis, a segregated city in the 1960s, where many whites and blacks nonetheless came together to make soulful music, a mix of gospel and potent rhythmic grooves – known as Memphis Soul. Enjoy watching…

Blues and rock'n'roll were born and bred in Memphis, where soul happily shook its tailfeather. When in Memphis you can learn more at Memphis' Rock 'n' Soul and Stax Museums or the legendary Sun Studio, where superstars like Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and U2 recorded, or listen to live blues all along Beale Street. And while in Memphis you can pay your respects to the King of Rock 'n' Roll at Graceland, Elvis Presley's home is almost as popular as the White House!

Read our Memphis & Mississippi guide or Tennessee Guide...