Even though The Killers are officially on hiatus, they can still make time to come together in the name of Liberty. The group joined Brandi Carlile and Cedric the Entertainer, as official guests of President Barack Obama, to headline the “Salute to the Military” USO Concert on the White House South Lawn on July 4th. Now in its second year, the event honors troops and their families for their service to the country.  This performance marks the first time The Killers have been invited to perform at the White House.


The band performed six songs (“Human,” “Somebody Told Me,” “Mr. Brightside,” “A Dustland Fairytale,” “Read My Mind” and “When You Were Young”)… All mixed, of course, on a DiGiCo SD7, by the band’s longtime engineer James Gebhard.

“For a Brit at The White House on July 4th, I’d still have to say it was pretty amazing!â€? mused Gebhard. “The gig itself was sure challenging, not only because of the venue, but also as FOH was actually 20m [approx 66 ft] stage right! Luckily having used the SD7 for so long with The Killers, doing a challenging show like that was more like flying a chopper with its trim balanced! We had a small tour of the East Wing, through the house and out the ‘backdoor’ exit under the balcony. I personally had a very brief encounter with the big O and a handshake!â€?

“Doing shows for the USO (and their British version, CSE) is always a pleasure. We’ve done several for the CSE, ranging from as far afield as The Falklands to Afghanistan, but the White House gig is up there with the best of them!�