Kyle McMahon

Kyle McMahon

Kyle McMahon is a Millennial with a mission to help others on their road to self improvement. A pop culture junkie, he's the host of Pop Culture...Full Bio

 

A Capitol Fourth 2021 Shines Bright As The Country Reopens

Photo: PBS / Capitol Concerts

The annual PBS concert A Capitol Fourth 2021 shines bright with star power, honor and fireworks as the country reopens.

After 15 months of suffering through a global pandemic, it seems America has finally turned the corner. Businesses have reopened, nearly 70% of the adult population have received at least one vaccination shot and people are starting to return to some sort of normalcy. That excitement and hope was channeled through a beautiful 90 minute special celebrating America's 245th birthday on Independence Day. PBS' A Capitol Fourth 2021 aired Sunday as a glorious tribute to America, the brave men and women that defend her and all of the parts of America that combine to make it what it is.

Photo: PBS / Capitol Concerts

In a press release, Executive Producer Michael Colbert stated his intentions for the 41st edition of this American tradition: "As families and friends reunite and the county begins to open up this Fourth of July, we plan to bring you an exciting program with the greatest fireworks display in the nation, performances by the biggest stars and patriotic favorites." And an exciting program Capitol Concerts delivered.

Photo: PBS / Capitol Concerts

Hosted by Vanessa Williams and Kermit the Frog (see my interview with Kermit the Frog right here) A Capitol Fourth 2021 was a mixture of pre-taped performances from around the country with a few live performances sprinkled in for good measure. World famous 17 time Grammy nominee (& 4 time winner) Renee Fleming kicked off the special singing The National Anthem and set the tone for the epic concert spanning sea to shining sea.

Photo: PBS / Capitol Concerts

Other performers included:

Cynthia Erivo performing her debut solo single The Good and Freeway of Love

Pentatonix belting out RENT's Seasons of Love from the Los Angeles skyline

Gladys Knight tearing the stage down in Washington DC

Jimmie Allen performing American Heartbreaker

Jennifer Nettles performing Oh What A Beautiful Morning

Train performing in San Francisco in front of the Golden Gate Bridge

Mickey Guyton performing her song Without A Net

Alan Jackson performing America The Beautiful

Kermit the Frog performing Rainbow Connection

Auli'i Cravalho performing A Whole New World from New York

Ali Stroker performing A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman

Hamilton's Christopher Jackson performing in DC

And the world premiere of Jimmy Buffet's rendition of the iconic This Land Is Your Land

As you can see from the highlights above, it was a night of tribute, celebration and a love for this nation that we call home.

Photo: PBS / Capitol Concerts

And of course, A Capitol Fourth featured the nation's Independence Day fireworks, a 17 minute show stopping spectacle set to a stunning music bed of patriotic songs from the National Symphony Orchestra against the beautiful DC skyline.

As always, Capitol Concerts has put on an incredibly entertaining and beautiful celebration of our Nation and served as a representation of our country opening up and coming together once again.

Photo: PBS / Capitol Concerts

Watch my interview with Pentatonix here or listen on this weeks episode of Pop Culture Weekly here to hear interviews with Pentatonix, Jimmie Allen, Kermit the Frog, Auli'i Cravalho and Ali Stroker. And be sure to watch the replay of A Capitol Fourth 2021 on PBS OnDemand, YouTube and Facebook until July 18th.

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Check out Kyle Mcmahon and subscribe to the Pop Culture Weekly podcast. You can follow him on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Rizzle and Instagram.


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