PHOTOS: Lizzo Visits the Library of Congress Flute Collection

Before Lizzo played James Madison’s crystal flute at a DC concert, the pop star tried out the instrument at the Library of Congress on Monday. She visited the institution’s massive flute collection, where she also played a tune on a piccolo that belonged to Philip Sousa’s bandmate. Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford, musical instrument curator for the Library of Congress, said the singer perused the collection for almost four hours. Take a look at Lizzo’s tour of the woodwind archive.

Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress. Note: Privacy and publicity rights for individuals depicted may apply. — Lizzo visited the Library of Congress’s main Reading Room to play the Madison flute. Photo by Shawn Miller, Library of Congress.

sousa piccollo - Washingtonian — Lizzo played Philip Sousa’s piccolo, which is featured in the famous song ‘Stars and Stripes Forever.’ Photo by Shawn Miller, Library of Congress.

madison flute - Washingtonian — The James Madison flute, pictured here, was also brought out on stage during her concert at Capitol One Arena. Photo by Shawn Miller, Library of Congress.

lizzo and carla - Washingtonian — Lizzo responded to Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden’s invite over Twitter to come visit the collection with “IM COMING CARLA!” Photo by Shawn Miller, Library of Congress.

This article has been corrected to reflect the piccolo belonged to Philip Sousa’s bandmate and not Philip Sousa.

Keely Bastow

Editorial Fellow

Keely recently graduated with her master’s in journalism from American University and has reported on local DC, national politics, and business. She has previously written for The Capitol Forum.