A crystal flute that once belonged to former President James Madison got some lawmaker-level protection on its way to a Lizzo concert, guarded by Capitol Police officers on its way to its first performance.
The “About Damn Time” singer, who’s a classically trained flute player, beamed as she excitedly showed off the precious instrument at her show at the Capitol One Arena in Washington on Tuesday.
The flute, on loan from the Library of Congress, was crafted for Madison in 1813 in honor of his second inauguration, according to the Library of Congress.
In a Wednesday Twitter post, Capitol Police said officers “helped safely escort” the flute to Lizzo’s concert. “You never know what you’re going to see with the U.S. Capitol Police!”
On stage to cheering fans, Lizzo played a few notes on the flute before exclaiming, “I just twerked and played James Madison’s crystal flute from the 1800s!”
“We just made history tonight,” the entertainer, born Melissa Jefferson, shouted.
“Thank you to the Library of Congress for preserving our history and making history fricking cool,” she added.
In a tweet to her 2 million followers, Lizzo boasted, “Nobody has ever heard this famous crystal flute before. Now you have.”
“I’m the first and only person to ever play this presidential 200-year-old crystal flute,” Lizzo said.
The historic musical moment came after Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden invited Lizzo last week to check out the Library of Congress’s flute collection, which is the largest in the world.
Lizzo replied, “I’m coming Carla! And I’m playin that crystal flute!”
Following the performance, the Library of Congress confirmed it was Madison’s flute making its Lizzo concert debut, including in a tweet nodding to the lyrics of her 2019 hit, “Truth Hurts.”
“We just did a DNA test. Turns out: It’s 100 percent that [crystal] flute @lizzo played at the D.C. stop on the #SpecialTour tonight,” the institution wrote on Twitter.