Crowds of AU students gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial with stars of all varieties and hundreds of thousands of people, according to the Washington Post, for the "We Are One" inaugural concert on Sunday.
The concert featured musical performances and readings of historical passages by celebrities, as well as speeches by then President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.
After "The Star-Spangled Banner," Denzel Washington opened the show with a speech about the historical monuments encircling the crowd and America's ability to overcome difficulties.
"Three simple words speak to who we are and to our future," Washington said. "We are one."
The statue of Abraham Lincoln quietly peered out from his marble pillars, overlooking the mass of people who joined Bruce Springsteen and a red-gowned female choir during his song, "The Rising."
The crowd lined both sides of the reflecting pool, stretching through the World War II Memorial to the Washington Monument and twisting around its base. People perched in leafless trees.
"I preferred to just walk around and experience the sight," said Andrew Feierman, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of International Service. "It was really interesting because everyone was really excited. It was certainly unique. I mean, people were climbing the trees."
The crowd listened to celebrities such as Jamie Foxx, Steve Carell, Queen Latifah, Tom Hanks, Jack Black and Tiger Woods, who quoted presidents and other historical figures.
The speeches were interspersed among varied musical acts with patriotic or inspiring messages such as Mary J. Blige's rousing version of "Lean on Me," John Mellencamp's "Pink Houses," and Josh Groban's "My Country 'Tis of Thee."
James Taylor performed his "Shower the People" with John Legend and Jennifer Nettles. U2 performed two of their songs: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and "City of Blinding Lights." Obama used the latter when campaigning. He specifically requested it, according to the Post.
Garth Brooks was joined by the enthusiastic crowds in his a medley of "American Pie," "Shout," and "We Shall Be Free."
"The performances were entertaining," said Jack Curtis, a freshman in CAS. "But it was less about the individual performers and more about 'Hey, look, I'm on the Mall with all these other people and Barack Obama is going to be President on Tuesday...' Not about Beyoncé."
Obama thanked the speakers and singers for their performances, saying that the concert was a "celebration of renewal."
"If we could just recognize ourselves in one another, not only would we restore hope but we would perfect our union in the process," he said, encouraging the crowd to band together.
To close the concert, Pete Seeger led the crowd in Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" and Beyoncé performed "America the Beautiful."
"America, we are one!" Beyoncé shouted to the crowd's applause.
Yet the person who may have received the biggest cheers Sunday afternoon was not Obama or a performer. He was a sound technician.
At the beginning of the concert, thunderous chants of "We can't hear" and "speakers" echoed throughout one section of the crowd. The nearby speaker was not working and the mass of people encircling it could not hear the opening remarks about unity by openly gay Rev. Gene Robinson.
"Yes you can!" The crowd roared, as the technician arrived. And he did. The speaker was quickly fixed.
You can reach this staff writer at landerson@theeagleonline.com.
