Country Fried White House

If you've lost your dog, your girlfriend left you and you can't afford your house anymore, you are either a product of the sagging economy or the subject of a country song... well, a stereotypical country song.

It was that "uniquely American art form" that President Obama highlighted at the White House Tuesday night.

He and First Lady Michelle welcomed some of country music's top stars for the second in a series of music appreciation events.

The performances were kicked off by twenty-six-time Grammy award-winning singer Alison Krauss, who was joined by frequent collaborators Union Station. Also entertaining the crowd were famed singers Brad Paisley and Charley Pride.

{VignetteMedia id="FAB55530EE20311C768199C832FFF540" autoplay="off" aspectratio="1.33" assettitl="Country+music+was+the+star+at+the+White+House+Tuesday." showtitle="yes" width="375" height="281" }

The president wanted the crowd to know that despite being an unlikely host for this event, he gets it, "I know folks think I'm a city boy, but I do appreciate listening to country music because, like all Americans, I appreciate the broad and indelible impact that country has had on our nation. It's touched countless lives. It's influenced all genres of music. It's helped us make the American people more hopeful. It's captured our restlessness and resilience and told so much of our story in the process."

The First Lady launched the White House music series to encourage arts and arts education. Also attending was the first lady's mother, Marian Robinson, and the Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia.

The music series begin last month with a jazz celebration and will continue this fall with classical music.