Obama Welcomed With Song And Concerts

A free download of a Barack Obama-inspired song will be made available on Friday to complement the Of Great And Mortal Men: 43 Songs For 43 U.S. Presidencies box set that was released last September.

"Someone To Wake" was written by project lynchpin Christian Kiefer and Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel frontman Will Johnson.

"It was the only song that did not have the benefit of an actual presidency to comment upon," says Kiefer. "Still, the sea change in positive thinking is a remarkable contrast to the previous administration. That's songworthy material."

"Someone To Wake" will be available on the Of Great And Mortal Men website along with an original Obama portrait by Rama Hughes and a lyric and credits page to accompany the box set's full-colour book.

The song will be unveiled live on Saturday at Washington, D.C.'s Sixth And I Historic Synagogue during an evening devoted to Of Great And Mortal Men that features Kiefer with collaborators Jefferson Pitcher and J. Matthew Gerken. Nellie McKay, Tim Fite, These United States, Jukebox The Ghost, Laura Burhenn, Denison Witmer, Reid Maclean, Silver Darling and Joe Pug will be among the guest contributors.

That concert is just one of the many that will be happening in Washington over the next week, but it's definitely one of the most affordable, aside from the free event happening on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial with Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Beyonce, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, John Mellencamp, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Usher, Shakira and others.

Here are the exorbitant prices being charged for some of the other inaugural concerts:

Jan. 18 at Renaissance Washington with host Jessica Alba and performances by John Legend and Maroon 5, with DJ Samantha Ronson: $250 and up

Jan. 20 at Marriott Wardman Park Hotel with Ludacris, Outkast's Big Boi and Monica: $350 and up

Jan. 19 at Warner Theatre with Jay-Z: $375 to $500

Jan. 20 at Marriott Wardman Park Hotel with Chaka Khan, George Clinton and Peter, Paul & Mary: $450 and up

Jan. 19 at The Harman Center For The Arts with T.I., LL Cool J and Young Jeezy: $500

Jan. 20 at The Harman Center For The Arts with Elvis Costello and Sting: $10,000 and up

Who said the U.S. is in a recession?