Later this month, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy,R-Louisiana, will be honored at the GRAMMYs on the Hill Awards for his work in helping the Afghanistan National Institute of Music escape from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021. The Recording Academy hosts the annual celebration to honor Congressional leaders for their work.

“Music carried the spirits of the students at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music through to freedom. No matter where you are in the world—Kabul or New Orleans—music communicates resilience, passion, and culture,” Cassidy said.

During the fall of Afghanistan in 2021, Cassidy’s office was involved in efforts to help 272 young musicians, faculty and staff escape to freedom. When the ANIM students were in buses waiting outside Hamid Karzai International Airport during the chaos of the mass evacuation, Cassidy attempted to get them through the gates. He worked to get messages to the commanders of the airport to gain entry for the students. After the airport was sealed off following a deadly ISIS attack, he advocated to make the students a priority as paperwork issues became a problem and worked with the Qatar government on multiple occasions to secure safe passage for the students.

The ANIM group was the largest evacuation out of Afghanistan and was the last major evacuation since the country fell to Taliban control. The students, staff, and families now reside safely in Portugal, where they were offered official residency.

Cassidy will be honored on Wednesday, April 26, alongside 13-time Grammy winner Pharrell Williams and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.