A high-powered roots-rock trio will perform a tribute to B.B. King, the late king of the blues, at the Grammy Awards, organizers announced Thursday.
Gary Clark Jr., a rocker with roots in blues guitar, will join two figures from country music — Chris Stapleton, a soulful singer/songwriter who is nominated for Album of the Year, and veteran Bonnie Raitt.
King died in May at age 89.
Announcing the latest batch of appearances for the February 15 gathering, the Recording Academy said that Justin Bieber will perform with Diplo and Skrillex, the electronic duo behind the Canadian star’s latest house-influenced album.
Other newly announced performers include The Hollywood Vampires, a supergroup that features actor Johnny Depp, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and veteran shock rocker Alice Cooper.
As previously reported, the Grammys will also feature a performance by the cast of “Hamilton,” the Broadway musical that has won wide acclaim for telling the story of a US founding father through hip-hop.
The “Hamilton” cast will play from New York rather than appearing in Los Angeles — only the fourth time the nearly six-decade award ceremony has brought in a performance remotely.
“Hamilton,” whose music was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is in the running for the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album, although it was not nominated in rap categories as some award watchers had predicted.
Other performers will include rapper Kendrick Lamar, who leads the night’s nominations, and Lady Gaga, who plans a “multisensory” tribute to late rock legend David Bowie.
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(Photo Source: AP)
