When organizers for the Democratic National Convention reached out to Mickey Guyton about performing her single “All American” on the gathering’s opening night, it was an easy call for her to accept.
“They thought it was a very unifying song, and they wanted me to do it,” Guyton told The Hollywood Reporter Monday night, shortly after her performance. “I said it would be the greatest honor.”
Guyton was the first of several musical performers at the United Center in Chicago Monday, with Jason Isbell and James Taylor following her later in the evening. The opening night of the DNC also laid out the party’s case for electing Kamala Harris and her vice presidential pick, Tim Walz, to the White House, slamming Republican nominee Donald Trump for his proposals while offering an uplifting message about what Harris and Walz would do if elected.
It’s the latter that drew Guyton — whose next album is set for a September release — to the convention, along with the possibility that the country could elect its first woman, and first woman of color, to the presidency.
“I never thought that I would see the possibility of having a female president in my lifetime, and it’s so attainable now,” Guyton said. “And not only that, she’s a woman of color — she’s a bright, biracial Black woman who’s also an [Alpha Kappa Alpha] and went to a historically Black college. All of the things that I admire about anybody, she is. She’s shattering the glass ceiling, and it’s just amazing.”
Guyton rehearsed with the Rickey Minor-led house band and the DNC production team Monday afternoon, and she said she could feel the “joy” among the crew, several of whom she’d worked with before on awards shows.
“Seeing the energy within the production, I could see their eyes light up,” she said. “A lot of times you can see everyone is just completely exhausted, but you just see this renewed sense of hope and determination and excitement. That’s what I’m looking forward to for the next three days.”
