Photo by skgstyle

It’s not often that a D.C. high school band gets to rehearse with a legend. John Legend, that is.

That’s what happened today, when the famed R&B singer surprised dozens of Duke Ellington High School of the Arts students as they rehearsed at the Kennedy Center. Legend was in town to launch “What’s Going On…Now,” a national youth campaign to encourage young people to share their art and expressions explaining how things have changed in the U.S. since Gaye first released the renown album 40 years ago. The campaign will be capped off by a concert at the Kennedy Center in May, where Legend will perform:

To mark the 40th anniversary of this iconic work and its performance in Washington, the Kennedy Center is reimagining the concert with Grammy Award-winning singer John Legend, the National Symphony Orchestra, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, and many special guests—including young artists and media producers.

There’s certainly some additional significant to the performance — Gaye was born in the District, lived in the Deanwood neighborhood of Ward 7 and attended Cardozo High School.