ABC/Image Group LAThe A&E special Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America, featuring performances by Eric Church, Zac Brown Band and a variety of other music stars, airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET. The two-hour show, which aims to promote unity and progress in the wake of tragedies like the racially motivated shooting this past June at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, was recorded Thursday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
Motown legend Smokey Robinson joined Eric for a performance of “Kill a Word,” a track from his surprise Mr. Misunderstood album, according to RollingStone.com. “We can break these chains that we’ve been handed,” Zac Brown Band sang, delivering “Remedy” from their Jekyll + Hyde project.
Other artists who performed at the concert included Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Sting, John Legend, Jamie Foxx, Pink, Ed Sheeran, Pharrell Williams, Nick Jonas and more.
Each performance was introduced by a celebrity presenter, and short documentary films were shown between songs that featured various artists, including Alicia Keys, Pharrell and Legend, visiting sites where racial conflicts have occurred throughout the years.
Shining a Light will air not only on A&E, but also on all of the channel’s affiliated networks, including History, Lifetime and LMN. During the special, viewers will have the opportunity to donate money to The United Way Worldwide-sponsored Fund for Progress on Race in America.
You can check out a variety of video clips from the show at A&E’s official YouTube channel.
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