This Wednesday, 20th January, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States. The ceremony will be followed by a virtual ‘Parade Across America’ virtual inauguration event, which will be closed out by none other than the long-inactive 90s rockers New Radicals.
As Rolling Stone reports, the band will reunite for one day after 22 years to perform their hit ‘You Get What You Give’ – the walk-on music for Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff during the presidential campaign. It’ll be the band’s first gig together since they broke up in 1999, shortly after releasing their signature song.
“If there’s one thing on Earth that would possibly make us get the band together, if only for a day, it is the hope that our song could be even the tiniest beacon of light in such a dark time,” commented the band’s frontman Gregg Alexander in a statement.
“America knows in its heart that things will get bright again with a new administration and a real plan for vaccines on the way. That’s the message of the song… this world is gonna pull through.”
Biden also has a personal connection to the song – in his 2017 autobiography Promise Me, Dad, he described how the song took on an important meaning during son Beau Biden’s battle with cancer.
“During breakfast, Beau would often make me listen to what I thought was his theme song, ‘You Get What You Give’ by the New Radicals,” Biden wrote.
“Even though Beau never stopped fighting and his will to live was stronger than most – I think he knew that this day might come. The words to the song are: This whole damn world can fall apart. You’ll be ok, follow your heart.”
Other artists confirmed for inauguration celebration events in the coming days include Fall Out Boy, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters and more.
