For the 38th year, PBS and NPT will air A Capitol Fourth, the annual Independence Day concert held on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, live on July 4th. This year’s broadcast is 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 4, with an encore presentation immediately afterward at 8:30 p.m. New for 2018 is a Viewing Party Kit that includes recipes, decorating ideas games and more to help viewers celebrate the holiday with friends and family. The kit is available at www.watchthefourth.org.
Emmy Award-nominated actor and producer John Stamos (“Fuller House,” “Scream Queens”) returns as host and performers include multiplatinum country music singer-songwriter Luke Combs; country music star and “American Idol” alum Lauren Alaina; and 12-time Grammy Award-winner gospel legend CeCe Winans.
Also on tap for this year’s concert: multiplatinum-selling music legend Jimmy Buffett with the Broadway cast of the new musical “Escape to Margaritaville”; multiplatinum-selling music legends The Beach Boys; legendary Motown stars The Temptations; three-time Grammy Award-winning and multiplatinum-selling artists Pentatonix; multiplatinum pop singer and songwriter Andy Grammer; and Grammy Award-winning soprano superstar Renée Fleming. “The Voice” Season 14 finalist Kyla Jade will open the show with a performance of the national anthem.
Additionally, Broadway legend Chita Rivera will introduce a special tribute to the work of famed American composer Leonard Bernstein in this, his centennial year. The segment will feature Bernstein’s beloved composition “Tonight” from “West Side Story” performed by internationally acclaimed, Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jack Everly. Rivera, a two-time Tony Award-winner, rose to stardom when she originated the role of Anita in the Broadway premiere of “West Side Story” in 1957.
Find our full programming lineup at http://www.wnpt.org/schedule/