Lionel Richie, Katy Perry to headline King Charles’ Coronation Concert

Lionel Richie, Katy Perry to headline King Charles’ Coronation Concert

Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Andrea Bocelli are among the headliners announced for King Charles’ Coronation Concert, set for May 7 on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

British pop group Take That, Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, singer-songwriter Freya Ridings and classical-soul musician Alexis Ffrench also are on the lineup, according to producer BBC Studios.

About 20,000 members of the public and invited guests are expected to attend the event, BBC Studios said in a press release. The artists will be backed by a 70-piece orchestra and a house band. A Coronation Choir — a group composed of U.K. community choirs and amateur singers — also is scheduled to perform. Their segment, called “Lighting up the Nation,” will include projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations, the release says.

More performers are expected to be announced in the weeks to come.

Like other artists confirmed for the concert, Richie, an Alabama native, has a connection to King Charles via the monarchy’s charitable organizations. The veteran pop & R&B star was appointed as the Prince’s Trust’s first Global Ambassador and Chairman of the Global Ambassador Group in 2019.

“To share the stage with the other performers at the Coronation Concert is a once-in-a-lifetime event and it will be an honor and a celebration,” Richie said in a statement.

Perry, too, has been affiliated with a charity organization linked to King Charles. She was appointed an ambassador of The British Asian Trust, a charity founded by Charles when he was Prince of Wales, in 2020.

“I am excited to be performing at the Coronation Concert, and helping to shine a further light on the British Asian Trust’s Children’s Protection Fund, whose work includes on-ground initiatives to fundraising, with the aim to find solutions to child trafficking,” the pop star said in a a statement.

Bocelli, the famed Italian tenor, sponsors an annual scholarship at London’s Royal College of Music. He’s set to perform a duet with Terfel at the concert. Ridings and Ffrench are scheduled to perform a duet, as well.

“I have had the great honour of singing for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on several occasions,” Boccelli said in a statement. “It is now another great honor to be asked to perform at the Coronation Concert of King Charles III. My joy and excitement is multiplied as I have the chance to duet with my dear friend and superb baritone, Sir Bryn Terfel, performing an iconic song of love and collective solidarity.”

The Coronation Concert will be televised live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, the producer said. BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds will broadcast the concert, as well.

There’s no word yet on what the artists will perform at the Coronation Concert, but Richie, an iconic figure in the entertainment world, has no lack of material at his disposal. His signature songs include “Penny Lover,” “Truly,” “All Night Long,” “Hello,” “Running With the Night,” “Say You, Say Me,” “Sail On,” “Stuck On You,” “Dancing on the Ceiling” and more. Richie, born and raised in Tuskegee, also created hits during his early years with the Commodores, including “Easy” and “Three Times a Lady.”

During a rare appearance in his home state in July 2022, headlining the closing ceremonies of the World Games in Birmingham, Richie chose three classics: “Dancing on the Ceiling,” “You Are” and “All Night Long.”