President Barack Obama bid farewell to America tonight, delivering what will almost certainly be his final address to the nation. The president’s speech—which saw Obama in typically fine form, mixing empathy and strength in equal regard—was prefixed by a performance from Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.
Vedder—a native of Obama’s old stomping grounds, Illinois—played a number of songs in the lead-up to the president’s speech, including “Rockin’ In The Free World,” “Something Inside So Strong,” and his own “Rise.” He was also joined by members of the Chicago’s Children’s Choir for a cover of Patti Smith’s “People Have The Power.” You can see and hear crowd-filmed portions of the performances below.
Meanwhile, soul singer BJ The Chicago Kid sang the national anthem, and Obama entered and exited, respectively, to “City Of Blinding Lights” by U2, and Bruce Springsteen’s “Land Of Hope And Dreams.”