Yee-haw!! Country music bands to perform at White House

In the midst of a battle to get his heath reform ideas through Congress, President Obama will take a break Tuesday evening and end the day with country music.

The President and First Lady will host an event at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) in the East Room featuring country music stars Charley Pride, Brad Paisley, and Alison Krauss.

If you didn't receive a ticket to the event or have a friend who's a roadie with one of the stars, then you're in luck as it will be streamed live on the White House web site beginning at 7:25 p.m.

If they really wanted to make it an authentic country western hoedown similar to Cheyenne Frontier Days, they could have brought in a few mechanical bulls and offered free chaps to everyone. But they've decided to go with a lower key approach.

During the afternoon, the musicians and Education Secretary Arne Duncan took part in a music workshop for 120 middle and high school students from around the country. According to the White House, the students at the session would learn "about the craft of songwriting and the genres of country music including bluegrass, honky-tonk and rockabilly.”

This evening, Paisley, Pride, Krauss, and the group Union Station will perform and the President is expected to make brief remarks (and perhaps surprise everyone by riding a mechanical bull). The event is being produced by the Grand Ole Opry and Great American Country Television.

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