More than 500,000 people are expected to gather near the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday for a massive fireworks display and concert to celebrate Independence Day. This will be the 43rd year for the "Capitol Fourth" celebration.
The concert will feature patriotic music plus performances from opera singer Renee Fleming, country duo Maddie and Tae, Boyz II Men and Chicago.
"We have played it before... it was 2002," said Chicago trumpet player Lee Loughnane. "It's a great honor to be called back and to be able to play for America's birthday. We've been all over the world in 56 years. As much fun as it is to be able to travel the world, see different places, try different foods and meet all the people...to come home to America, you realize it's the freest country in the world. We love being here, living here, and it's exciting to be able to celebrate our birthday."
The group will be accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra. Chicago's long list of hits includes one of the few rock songs about July 4th, "Saturday in the Park". There's a good possibility that song could be featured during the performance on July 4th.
"We are going to do three songs," Loughnane said, "and I will leave that for a surprise! But I can tell you that we're going to have a lot of fun and we're going to do ten minutes on the show. Everyone will enjoy it, and then we get the fireworks!"
Other acts performing on Tuesday include Babyface, Belinda Carlisle, country singer Charles Esten, and the Northwell Health Nurse Choir. This year's host is TV star Alfonso Ribeiro. The show will be streamed live on YouTube and carried on PBS television stations.
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