Hard at work on her upcoming new record, Lee Ann Womack pauses for a trip to Washington, DC. While in the nation’s capitol, the 7-time Country Music Association award-winner will perform at the Centennial First Ladies Luncheon at the Washington Hilton May 9th, then head to the White House that evening for the presentation of the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Award.

“When you’re asked by Congressman Green from Texas’s wife to help her, the collected spouses of Congress, the Supreme Court, President’s Cabinet and the Vice President to help honor our First Lady, you don’t say, ‘Well, I’m working on a record…’,” says the woman who was born and raised in Jacksonville, Texas. “To see all these people come together at a time when working together is gonna be the key to solving a lot of the issues facing our country, to me, that’s a wonderful place to start.”

To thank Womack for her performance, a contribution is being made to the Houston-based Healthcare for the Homeless, which provides long term medical care for people living on the streets or shelters who fall through the cracks. They also help those who can qualify integrate into more conventional forms of healthcare.

“It’s amazing the work these folks do,” Womack says. “Healthcare for the Homeless goes out on the streets to take medical care where people need it. They work with homeless people with serious health-related issues, and when possible, they help them find their way into the more conventional systems that have been set up to help people in need. That I can help in any way is a wonderful thing…”

Later that evening, Womack will join the rest of the committee members at the White House where Burt Bacharach and Hal David are being presented the 2012 Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize– given to recognize a lifetime of excellence in songcraft. Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder and Sir Paul McCartney are the previous winners.

“Look at the songs Burt Bacharach and Hal David have written! Pop songs, movie themes, musicals… They put life to song, and they make us all hum along with their melodies,” Womack says. “I think people sometimes miss the poetry in what we hear on the radio, so I was thrilled hen they asked me to participate as part of the Committee to honor people who’ve made this kind of contribution… With parents who taught school, I learned lots of every day life can be poetry, it’s all how you see it.

“And it’s also my personal mission to see Willie Nelson receieve this award.”

The Gershwin Prize ceremony — including performances from Lyle Lovett, Diane Krall, Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, Arturo Sandoval and Mike Myers among others – will be livestreamed by the White House (www.whitehouse.gov/live) May 9 at 7 pm. Eastern. The concert will also air May 21 at 9 pm on PBS.

“To be able to do things like this,” Womack says, “I am very, very blessed. Honoring creative people, celebrating the contributions of the First Lady and all the spouses in Washington, DC. Music can take you a lot of places you’d never imagine, and I try never to forget the power of what musicians, songwriters and singers do – and how it changes the way people look at their lives.”

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