Bill and Hillary Clinton Joined Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, and Lorde to Raise $7 Million and Celebrate Fleetwood Mac
If you were a famous musician in N.Y.C. on Friday night, you were probably at Radio City Music Hall, and with good reason.
The Recording Academy's annual pre-Grammys tribute concert could not have brought out more A-listers to celebrate and honor the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year: Fleetwood Mac. Everyone from Harry Styles, Lorde, and Miley Cyrus, to Bill and Hillary Clinton made an appearance in the name of singing Fleetwood Mac songs and raising money for MusiCares, which helps members of the music industry with medical and financial needs, and addiction recovery.
Keith Urban dazzled the crowd with a rendition of "Second Hand News," but before he hit the stage, he told InStyle and other reporters that it was the first song he ever heard from the honorees.
"It's the first song on Rumours and our neighbors had that album when it came out, I guess they got it the day it came out. I grew up across the street and they were having a party and I just heard that album cranked to death, and my brother and I, and my parents went over and got to know them, and we'd just play that album over and over and over," he said. "I remember that night so vividly. It's crazy."
Singer Brandi Carlile was similarly excited to perform in front of the band.
"Nobody is like them," she said to InStyle. "They're complicated people with complicated lives and when they come together, they achieve a harmony that's perfection. It's kind of unparalleled, and I think that's one of the things that makes them popular and relevant to this day. It's that real people communicate with real people."
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Bill Clinton did the honor of presenting the award itself in front of a large audience of musicians and fans—including Hillary Clinton, who was a surprise audience member who left the crowd cheering just as much as they did for Fleetwood Mac themselves.
"It's good to be back. I did win two Grammys. I also have a date tonight who won a Grammy herself, Hillary came with me and I'm ver glad she did ... I also want to say how honored I am to honor the band whose famous song "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" has been played for me more than "Hail to the Chief ..." said Bill. "They let me use it as a theme song and I have been trying to live by it ever since."
As for the band itself—comprised of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks—they thanked the audience and spoke about singing with their "dysfunctional family, including pre-performance jitters.
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During her the band's acceptance speech, Stevie Nicks said that Harry Styles asked her if she was alright before she went on stage, causing her to reflect that nerves are the thing that makes performances great.
“When it goes away, you’re in trouble," she told the audience. "Because the butterflies are what makes you walk out on the stage and be magical."
And magical they were. The Recording Academy reports that the evening raised $7 million for MusiCares, and that's something pretty extraordinary.
