Some Big Names Will Play at Obama Center's Grand Opening

Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder will help christen Barack Obama's presidential center on Thursday. In an Instagram post on Tuesday, the Obama Foundation on June 16 unveiled a stacked roster of performers for the Thursday grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side, a ceremony that will stream live on the center's website starting at noon Eastern. Billed as a tribute to the values of Obama's presidency, the event kicks off a Juneteenth weekend of public celebrations running June 19–21. Speakers on Thursday will include Michelle Obama and the former president himself, Rolling Stone reports.

Also slated to take the stage: Christina Aguilera, Common, Eddie Vedder, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Marsai Martin, Marc Anthony, Tems, The Roots, and U2's Bono and The Edge. The 19-acre complex includes a public library branch, community spaces, sports facilities, a playground, and a museum that departs from the traditional presidential library model. One guest unlikely to appear is President Trump, who has derided the roughly $850 million center as a "total disaster." The Obama Foundation tells USA Today, however, that Trump is still "welcome" to visit and tour the grounds.