A Capitol Fourth celebration, airing today on PBS, is definitely one to watch!
The important thing to know is that you need to tune in today at 8 pm on your local PBS station or listen live on your local NPR radio. The concert will be live-streamed on PBS, YouTube, Facebook and www.pbs.org/a-capitol-fourth and available as Video on Demand for a limited time only, July 4 to July 18.
A Capitol Fourth Celebrates Our Freedom And Independence With A Special Tribute To Our American Military Heroes And Their Families
John Stamos aka Uncle Jesse is hosting the event again. He said this about the concert:
“You can’t get more patriotic than this! I’m excited to carry on this July 4th TV tradition for the American people and especially proud to honor our veterans.”
He’s not the only one who wants to pay homage to our military and their families. Opera singer Renee Fleming will be singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” for us. Her voice is amazing. You can feel her emotion and dedication to us when she sings. I wish my audio recording from her July 3 rehearsal was good but then again, I don’t want to spoil it for you.
Andy Grammer rehearsed his song, “Back Home” for us along with backup singers from the Ministers of Music. Lauren Alaina also had local musicians with her. She had female snare drummers pounding out an exciting beat to punctuate her song. Hearing these songs live and in person is an amazing experience.
Andy also spoke about how he is excited to hear The Beach Boys perform. He said that “every vacation growing up started with The Beach Boys.”
For me, vacation is signaled by Jimmy Buffett. He’s performing too, along with the cast of “Escape to Margaritaville.” Watching them, I really want to see their Broadway show now. Just one more musical to add to my list…
Speaking of memories, many of mine refer to the music of the ‘60s. My father was always singing along to doo-wop and Motown musicians. I was able to see The Temptations sing and move across the stage doing their thing. They still got it! The last song they performed was “My Girl” which is exactly what my dad used to sing to me. It was a great tie in from the past to the present.
And that’s what you’ll find as you listen to the rest of the performers. Pentatonix, the a capella group who champions our LGBTQ military members, show off their voices. It is truly a marvel what they can do with their vocal cords. Luke Combs, CeCe Winans, Joshua Bell, and “The Voice” finalist, Kyla Jade round out the A Capitol Fourth lineup.
Join us TONIGHT as we’ll be celebrating America’s biggest birthday party by performing on A Capitol Fourth LIVE from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC! Tune-in at 8/7c on @PBS. #July4thPBS @July4thPBS pic.twitter.com/AfFjVgQkVx
— Pentatonix (@PTXofficial) July 4, 2018
A Capitol Fourth’s executive producer, Michael Colbert, talked about this 38th iteration of the concert. His family actually started this annual tradition and he proudly carries it on. His dedication shows when he spoke about the event.
He told us that Chita Rivera will be presenting an award to her friend Leonard Bernstein. Chita was a military brat in case you didn’t know. Her dad played in the Navy Band.
While I think Michael is excited about all the acts I believe he is most passionate about the 1812 Overture and the fireworks. Those weren’t on display for us but they will be when you tune in tonight! The synchronization is incredible. My understanding is that the National Symphony Orchestra librarian has to cue the Army band at the precise moment. Somehow, they make it look easy every year.
I encourage you to watch A Capitol Fourth. If you can’t watch it live, watch the replay this weekend. It will be worth it.
