A Capitol Fourth

A Capitol Fourth Concert

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Holy Moley! What an event! Not that I should be surprised. Every year that this is held, it never fails to amaze. If you didn’t watch it live, you still have a chance to see it anyways. Just log onto pbs.org and watch a feed. Or log onto YouTube. It’s 90 minutes of pure joy and America.

The show opens with the Muppets. How can you go wrong with that? John Stamos mentioned that it was his dream to perform with them. That was always my dream too! You’ll have to watch to see how it turns out. By the way, can you believe that they are 50 years old this year! They don’t look like they’ve aged a bit! Fortunately, there are plenty of times to catch them on your screen.

Photo by MJ Boice. Rehearsal day.

And if you are a reality TV junkie, there are plenty of opportunities to catch the winners and participants from various singing competitions: The Voice, America’s Got Talent, and American Idol.

Early on in the broadcast, John Stamos reminded us all to,

“Love each other as citizens but also as a great, big American family.”

It is great advice in this time in our history. We need to remember our civility as well as our citizenship.

Speaking of civility, the wounded warriors who performed last night were so inspirational. We know that music can heal your soul but watching those men proved that. And having John Stamos behind the drum kit was amazing to see. They sang that country favorite, “Chicken Fried”. You know that gets the crowd going.

But they weren’t the only performers to move my heart. The list of people who came out to share in our nation’s premiere concert is impressive.

  • Lindsey Sterling-electronic violinist extordinaire
  • Laura Osnes-Broadway star
  • Keala Settle-The Greatest Showman performer
  • The O’Jays-celebrated R&B group
  • Gone West with Colbie Caillat
  • Yolanda Adams-gospel singer
  • Lee Brice-country music artist

Carole King and the cast of Beautiful brought me the most joy. She has shared in my young adulthood and the songs in the show bring back so many great memories. I’m happy to see that Vanessa Carlton has taken up the mantle of portraying Carole. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see the musical, put it on your list of “to-dos”

But back to the concert at hand. The patriotic music showcased is incredible. After Vanessa Williams sang “America”, she was joined on the stage by a plethora of previous singers to belt out “God Bless America.” It was truly moving. And you should watch it yourself. Just check your local PBS stations for days and times when they are rebroadcasting it.

July 4th PBS photo

And then don’t forget to put it on your calendar for next year. It’ll be the 40th anniversary so it’s sure to be a doozy. You really need to make this show part of your 4th of July family tradition.

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

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Happy 4th of July everyone!

I had an exciting day yesterday. Once again I was privy to the media day for a PBS concert here in DC. This was for A Capitol Fourth concert. I got to hear a ton of people practice. Here’s where I get to brag about rubbing elbows with some cool people.

Thank goodness they’re cool because the weather was HOT! It was 95 but felt like 105. The sweat was dripping everywhere. The performers got the VIP treatment (of course) while we had to suffer with only a tent.

Andy Grammar made me feel better since I love hearing him sing. He is such a performer. It was worth baking in the sun to listen. Granted, it was only one song but I’ll take it.

I got serenaded by The Temptations too. They are still on point which surprised me. I remember listening to them with my dad. They ended their set with “The Temptations National Anthem”-“My Girl”. So fun!

When they were setting up for the cast of “Escape to Margaritaville”, I was wishing they were giving us samples, but no. I just had to watch them practice. But I got snarky nonetheless. It was hot, like I said and I couldn’t help myself. But the rehearsal made me want to go to Broadway to see them.

 

After all that heat and fun, I went to Nats stadium to watch my Red Sox kick some butt. It was the second game that my spouse and I went to. The game on the 2nd was even hotter. Which was weird considering the game started an hour earlier on the 3rd. For that game, both sets of my parents came down to see it. It was a treat to have everyone together.

We had a great view even though we were melting.  But that’s what I do apparently. I stop the world and melt with you (and thousands of others).