The legendary, Grammy Award–winning Brazilian singers, songwriters, and guitarists Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil will perform at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro at the Maracanã Stadium this Friday, August 5. The ceremony will be broadcast around the world and can be seen in the United States on NBC starting at 7:30 PM ET and in Canada on the CBC starting at 7 PM ET. The Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony is expected to last about three hours, culminating with the lighting of the Olympic Pyre. For more on the Rio Games, visit rio2016.com; for a complete schedule of the US broadcast, visit nbcolympics.com.

Nonesuch released a live two-disc recording from Veloso and Gil—Dois Amigos, Um Século de Música: Multishow Live—earlier this year. The album celebrates a lifelong friendship over the half-century careers of two artists who have broken cultural, social, and political barriers through music. Dois Amigos, Um Século de Música: Multishow Live was recorded for television during a concert in Brazil last year, in the midst of the Dois Amigos tour, and is available on iTunes and in the Nonesuch Store.

Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil hold very important roles in developing and keeping Brazilian popular music vibrant and alive around the world. Over 50 years, they have both developed extremely successful careers as singers, composers, writers, and guitarists.

Their importance to the culture of their country goes back to the 1960s, when they together created the Tropicália movement, which combined pop culture with traditional local music. Deeply critical of local politics and morality, Tropicália was eventually repressed by the authoritarian regime. Both Gil and Veloso were imprisoned and exiled.

Gil's albums have been released internationally since 1978, the year of his successful performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. He tours Europe, North America, Latin America, and Japan every year, with his contagious pop music sung in Brazilian Portuguese. Of his 60 albums, 12 have gone gold and five have been certified platinum; he has won seven Grammys and sold more than four million records.

Veloso, who celebrates a birthday this Sunday, has 49 albums and 400 songs in his catalog. He has released more than a dozen albums on Nonesuch Records in the United States, including Tropicália 2 (1994), an album with Gil celebrating 25 years of artistic/personal friendship. He has won two Grammys and 10 Latin Grammy Awards, among other awards.