ATLANTA – Former president Jimmy Carter will be honored next month, ahead of his 100th birthday, with a musical gala at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, the Carter Center announced Thursday.
The September 17th event – “Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song” – will feature musicians from diverse genres and celebrity guests. Carter’s birthday is October 1st.
Performers include Chuck Leavell, D-Nice, Drive-By Truckers, Eric Church, GROUPLOVE, Maren Morris and The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus. Notable guests include former Atlanta Braves star Dale Murphy, Atlanta rap artist Killer Mike and actor Sean Penn. Other guests will be announced before the event, organizers said.
The 39th president, who served from 1977 to 1981, remains at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he has been receiving palliative care since February 2023. He was last seen publicly at the funeral of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who died in November. But people close to him say he remains in good spirits, sometimes receiving visitors, regularly watching Braves games on television and still enjoying music.
“Whether on his record player, on the campaign trail or on the White House lawn, music was and continues to be a source of joy, comfort and inspiration for my grandfather,” Jason Carter said in a statement.
Jason Carter chairs the board of directors of the Carter Center, the human rights organization that Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter was released in 1982, shortly after leaving the White House.
The Fox show is expected to celebrate the Carters’ work defending human rights, public health and democracy around the world.
Tickets will cost $100 and go on sale at the Fox Theater box office at 10 a.m. on August 5. Proceeds will benefit The Carter Center.
Separately, the Carter Center is soliciting messages from the public for the former president that will be turned into a digital mosaic, similar to what the center did for its 99th anniversary celebration.
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On the web: CarterCenter.org/JimmyCarter100
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