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Lizzo plays President James Madison's 200-year-old flute
Thanks to a single tweet, Lizzo made history on stage at Capitol One Arena Tuesday night as she played former President James Madison’s 200-year-old flute. FOX 5 visited the Library of Congress to learn more about the historic instrument.
WASHINGTON - Lizzo played former President James Madison's crystal flute Tuesday night during her "Special" tour stop at the Capital One Arena.
She told the crowd that she is the first person ever to play the instrument, which was crafted in 1813.
The "Truth Hurts" singer held the relic gently, blew twice, and wiggled as fans applauded. "It's crystal. It's like playing out of a wine glass," she joked.
"We just made history tonight," she told the crowd. "Thank you to the Library of Congress for preserving history and making history freakin' cool. History is freakin' cool, you guys."
Over the weekend, the Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden invited Lizzo to visit the library and play "a couple" flutes.
"The Library of Congress has the largest flute collection in the world with more than 1,800. It incl Pres James Madison’s 1813 crystal flute," Hayden tweeted Friday. "We would love for you to come see it and even play a couple when you are in DC next week. Like your song they are 'Good as hell."
Lizzo surprisingly responded to Hayden on Saturday and was spotted at the Library of Congress Monday afternoon.
One library patron tweeted that Hayden "personally asked if it was okay" for Lizzo to play. The Library of Congress typically prohibits "making disruptive noises" and "using any musical instrument or other device for the production or reproduction of sound."
Watch Lizzo play James Madison's crystal flute and twerk below: