Michelle Obama wasn’t the only person in politics to make an appearance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday evening. Sitting right behind Album of the Year winner Kacey Musgraves was none other than Wilson Building stalwart David Meadows, senior advisor to At-large Councilmember Anita Bonds and Ward 6 Democratic committeeman, whose visage appeared on the telecast.

Close enough to Musgraves that he says he actually bumped heads at one point with her husband, Meadows was surrounded by the night’s winners: He had Cardi B across the aisle and Lady Gaga a few rows up.

“The energy was just so chaotic because the celebrities would come and go,” Meadows says. “One minute it’s J Lo and then she’s gone, and the next minute it’s Diana Ross and her family.” Meadows says he wished Ross a happy 75th birthday “and she said I was a sweetheart.” He also spoke to Lady Gaga—“but I called her Stefani”—before he was interrupted because “everyone was talking to her.”

He didn’t just talk to the artists who scored Grammys, either. “Shawn Mendes gave me a bro hug—his skin is so nice,” says Meadows. “Later on I felt kind of bad because he didn’t win his award.” (Mendes was up for Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album.) Where did Meadows chat with all of these stars? “During commercial breaks, everyone gets up and starts talking to each other,” he explains. His only disappointment was not getting to chat up Dolly Parton, though he did get to enjoy her onstage performance.

So how did Meadows score his prime seat? Turns out, this isn’t even his first year attending the Grammys. He went last year too—both times are thanks to a high school friend, who does production for the Grammys and the Emmy Awards. But this is the first year Meadows made it on TV.

He wore his own tuxedo. “In D.C., I recommend everyone buys their own tux because you need them, if not two,” he says. He sported the newest part of his look on his face: “It was the first time ever I had a beard.”

Even during the telecast, though, he was still politicking. Seated next to Valerie Bailey, the wife of Earth, Wind & Fire singer Philip Bailey, Meadows says he’s “hopefully getting her to come out to the Democratic Convention” in 2020.

He filled DCist in on his night of glamour during the cab ride to the airport on Wednesday, because he is headed “back to the grind of the District.” Still, even the Grammys didn’t feel too far-flung from the government. “Politics and entertainment are quite similar,” Meadows says. “There’s some theatrics to both of them.”

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