On May 1, 1972, R&B soul master Marvin Gaye made history performing his seminal album What's Going On in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. In honor of the album's 40th anniversary, the Kennedy Center and the NSO Pops will commemorate that legendary concert with a fresh look at Gaye's powerful recording from Grammy Award–winning artist John Legend and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. An R&B sensation in his own right, Legend will echo Marvin Gaye's inspirational lyrics while premier soul band Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings fills the shoes of the original Funk Brothers.
What's Going On...NOW
Singer-songwriter John Legend joined the Kennedy Center to launch "What's Going On…NOW," a national arts and digital media campaign to inspire and engage youth while marking the 40th anniversary of Marvin Gaye's iconic album and his 1972 Kennedy Center performance. Using Marvin Gaye's music as a catalyst, the Kennedy Center's campaign asks: "How have things changed in the last 40 years? What's going on…now?" Young people can go to www.whatsgoingonnow.org and share their own creative perspectives on the similarities and differences between Marvin Gaye's "then" and their own "now." They can upload video, photos, poems, music--whatever art form inspires their own creative expression.