--- ---  # Stephen Colbert's First _Late Show_ Musical Guest Will Be Kendrick Lamar by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Aug 11, 2015 12:51 AM UTC  Kendrick Lamar will be Stephen Colbert's first musical guest. Lamar is seen performing at the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival on Aug. 1 in Montreal. Kendrick Lamar will be Stephen Colbert's first musical guest. Lamar is seen performing at the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival on Aug. 1 in Montreal.Emma McIntyre—Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Aug 11, 2015 12:51 AM UTC Kendrick Lamar will be Stephen Colbert’s [first musical guest](http://www.thewrap.com/kendrick-lamar-to-be-stephen-colberts-first-late-show-musical-guest/?utm%5Fterm=breaking-news) on the new _Late Show_. The new host made the announcement at the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Monday, the Wrap [reports](http://www.thewrap.com/kendrick-lamar-to-be-stephen-colberts-first-late-show-musical-guest/?utm%5Fterm=breaking-news), explaining that he liked that Lamar had also been his final musical guest on _The Colbert Report_. Colbert has [already announced](http://time.com/3988725/colbert-first-guest/) his first non-musical guest, George Clooney. Clooney, Lamar and Colbert will all show up on CBS for _Late Show’s_ first day back at New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater on Sept. 8. \[[_The Wrap_](http://www.thewrap.com/kendrick-lamar-to-be-stephen-colberts-first-late-show-musical-guest/?utm%5Fterm=breaking-news)\] Stephen Colbert's First Musical Guest Will Be Kendrick Lamar ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3992006/stephen-colbert-late-show-kendrick-lamar/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3992006/stephen-colbert-late-show-kendrick-lamar/"},"headline":"Stephen Colbert's First Late Show Musical Guest Will Be Kendrick Lamar","datePublished":"2015-08-11T00:51:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:03:53.073Z","description":"The new Late Show host has announced his first performer","url":"https://time.com/3992006/stephen-colbert-late-show-kendrick-lamar/","keywords":["Television","Kendrick Lamar","stephen colbert","late show"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0472b2f112e5264/69885eac8e06017517461ca7/stephen-colbert-first-musical-guest-kendrick-lamar.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0472b2f112e5264/69885eac8e06017517461ca7/stephen-colbert-first-musical-guest-kendrick-lamar.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kendrick Lamar will be Stephen Colbert's first musical guest. Lamar is seen performing at the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival on Aug. 1 in Montreal.","caption":"Kendrick Lamar will be Stephen Colbert's first musical guest. Lamar is seen performing at the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival on Aug. 1 in Montreal.","creditText":"Emma McIntyre—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3992006/stephen-colbert-late-show-kendrick-lamar/","name":"Stephen Colbert's First Late Show Musical Guest Will Be Kendrick Lamar"}}]}] ```