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American singer Brad Paisley performs live in concert during his "Son Of The Mountains" World Tour at Hovet on March 5 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Washington CNN  — 

Country star Brad Paisley and the Howard Gospel Choir will provide the entertainment at a glitzy, black-tie state dinner at the White House on Thursday as President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden roll out the red carpet for Kenya President William Ruto and first lady Rachel Ruto.

The choice of the singer and choir is a nod to their guests’ love of country and gospel music, the first lady’s office said.

“Distinguished songwriter and recording artist Brad Paisley and the highly acclaimed Howard Gospel Choir were selected by the First Lady to perform musical selections at the State Dinner,” the office of the first lady said in a statement shared first with CNN.

The statement continued, “Brad Paisley and the Howard Gospel Choir were chosen by Dr. Biden to honor President and First Lady Ruto’s love of Country and Gospel music, and in celebration of the continuing friendship between the United States and Kenya.”

A state visit is among the highest diplomatic tools a White House can employ to honor a top ally, with the meticulously planned event aimed at intertwining and highlighting American and Kenyan cultures as Biden seeks to emphasize the strong alliance between the two countries.

Biden and Ruto welcomed Kenyan and American business leaders to the White House on Wednesday as part of the African leader’s official state visit.

“I can’t think of a better way to kick off this visit,” Biden said. “Today as we honor 60 years of ties between our countries, it’s clear that our people are the true strength of this partnership. And a partnership that is working well. And nowhere is it more important than in the realm of innovation.”

He also thanked the leaders attending, telling them to “keep it up.”

This visit marks the first time an American president has hosted an African leader for a state visit since February 2008, when President George W. Bush hosted the president of Ghana.

Biden, who said he would visit the African continent “soon” in 2022, has yet to make good on that promise. But he has hailed cooperation with Africa and is seeking to build relationships with key leaders as a counter to Russia and China’s inroads on the continent. Jill Biden traveled to Namibia and Kenya in February 2023.

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US President Gerald Ford dances with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II during a state dinner in Washington, DC, in 1976.
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US President Franklin D. Roosevelt holds up the United Nations Declaration next to Bolivian President Enrique Penaranda after Penaranda signed it during a state dinner at the White House in 1943. "Roosevelt is really the first to start using the dinners a bit more strategically," Matthew Costello, a historian with the White House Historical Association, said in 2020.
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Nikita Khrushchev, left, was the first Soviet head of state to visit the United States. His wife, Nina, is seen at center between US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and first lady Mamie Eisenhower in 1959. After Roosevelt, state dinners became a delicate dance of strategy during the Cold War era. Costello said the official visits were opportunities to pull Western allies closer, or to try to thaw icier relationships.
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US President John F. Kennedy and Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba are trailed by their wives, Jackie and Moufida, as they walk down White House steps to pose for photos in 1961.
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US President Lyndon B. Johnson welcomes Barbados Prime Minister Errol W. Barrow and his wife, Carolyn, for a state dinner in 1968. Johnson threw 54 state dinners during his time in office, which is more than any other president.
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US President Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev share a toast during a state dinner in 1973.
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US President Gerald Ford dances with first lady Betty Ford during a state dinner held in honor of Jordan's King Hussein in 1974.
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First lady Betty Ford, center left, and decorator Betty Sherrill, center right, look over table settings as they prepare for a state dinner in honor of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in 1976.
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US President Jimmy Carter offers a toast while hosting Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping and his wife, Cho Lin, at a state dinner in 1979. There was no hard liquor served at state dinners hosted by Carter, but they did serve beer and wine.
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First lady Nancy Reagan meets with White House chefs ahead of a state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982.
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Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, left, shakes hands with baseball legend Joe DiMaggio while attending a state dinner at the White House in 1987. At center is US President Ronald Reagan. "The Reagans loved to throw state dinners," Costello said. "In the 80s, global change was reaching a fever pitch, and Reagan had secured the admiration of several leaders."
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Russian President Boris Yeltsin and his wife, Naina, stand next to US President George H.W. Bush, right, and his wife, Barbara, before a state dinner in 1992. Following the Cold War, state dinners began to taper off.
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Singer Whitney Houston performs at a state dinner in honor of South African President Nelson Mandela in 1994.
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US President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton stand with Mandela and his daughter Zindzi before the state dinner in 1994.
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Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, take their seats in 2003 for a state dinner held in honor of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
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US President George W. Bush, right, sits with first lady Laura Bush, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip as they listen to a performance by violinist Itzhak Perlman after a state dinner in 2007.
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US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama await the arrival of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, for a state dinner in 2009.
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Obama listens to Singh during toasts in 2009.
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The White House's State Dining Room is seen ahead of a state dinner honoring French President Emmanuel Macron in 2018.
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US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at the state dinner in 2018.
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Trump and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison share a toast at a state dinner in 2019. It was Trump's last state dinner.
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US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden greet French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, as they arrive for a state dinner at the White House in December 2022. It was the first state dinner of the Biden administration, and the first since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Grammy-winning Paisley previously performed for a black-tie dinner for bipartisan governors at the White House last year. And he joined Jill Biden for a visit to a pop-up Covid-19 vaccination site in Nashville in June 2021.

Paisley first performed at the White House in 2009 during the Obama administration as part of a music series. He recalled the emotion of singing the song “Welcome to the Future” in front of then-President Barack Obama.

“The last verse is about a kid in high school who’s having a difficult time, and who’s Black, and he has a cross burned in his yard for asking out the homecoming queen. And the line of the chorus is, ‘Wake up Martin Luther, welcome to the future,’” he wrote in a CNN blog post at the time.

He continued, “Being able to deliver that message personally to one of the people who ushered in this new era is really one of the most completely, artistically satisfying moments I’ve ever had.”

The first lady told reporters that Thursday’s state dinner will be held outdoors on the White House grounds.

“Tomorrow night we mark the 60th anniversary of the United States partnership with Kenya with an elegant dinner under the stars in a pavilion made almost entirely of glass looking up at our one sky,” Jill Biden said, even though rain is in the forecast for the Washington area. “While outside night surrounds us, inside guests will be brought together over the glow of candles in a space saturated with warm pinks and reds.”

The dinner will be held in a “transparent pavilion” on the South Lawn, according to the first lady’s office, that will be adorned with more than 1,000 candles.

“Tomorrow night we’ve created an experience that will feature the beautiful scenes of the White House and the Washington Monument that few get to enjoy,” White House social secretary Carlos Elizondo said.

There will be three courses during Thursday’s dinner – the first will be a chilled heirloom tomato soup. The main course for Thursday’s dinner will be a “best of both worlds” duo of butter-poached lobster and smoked beef short ribs, according to White House executive chef Cris Comerford. Some of the kale that the chef is using in Thursday’s dinner comes from the White House garden.

The tables for the dinner will be set with sequined lavender and floral-patterned linens, but White House china will not be used for the dinner since it is being held outdoors. Instead the White House rented dishes to use, according to the social secretary.

Event planner Bryan Rafanelli also helped the White House plan for the state dinner. His team also assisted with April’s White House state dinner for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife, Yuko Kishida

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN’s Sam Fossum contributed to this report.