During her show on September 27 in Washington DC, the singer-songwriter, rapper and musician Lizzo was given the opportunity to play a 200 year old flute taken from the Library of Congress. The two century old flute’s owner was none other than the fourth president of the United States: James Madison.
According to Consequence of Sound, Lizzo was able to enter the Library of Congress in the days prior to the performance to see the massive collection of flutes held in the museum. A classically trained flautist, Lizzo was given the opportunity to take a flute given to James Madison as a gift to her show at the Capital One Arena.
She makes sure to treat the instrument with a lot of care, while being thrilled to be able to play it, saying “This is crazy. I have to be really careful… This is from the early 1800s, this was a gift to James Madison from a French crystal flute designer to celebrate his second term. There was a fire… and the only two things that were saved were a portrait of George Washington and this crystal flute right here.”
She continues, noting that nobody else has heard this flute played in 2 centuries: “I am the first person to ever play it, “so you’re about to hear what it sounds like for the first time.”
After the representative from the museum hands her the instrument, she plays a few elegant notes on the flute, showing that 2 centuries have not diminished the instrument’s quality, before happily twerking and handing the instrument back. She says: “Bitch, I just twerked and played James Madison’s flute from the 1800s!”
The musician goes on to thank “the Library of Congress for preserving our history and making history cool. History is freaking cool, you guys!” See Lizzo play James Madison’s flute below.
Lizzo is currently on her North American tour for Fall 2022, with dates scheduled until mid-November.
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