A CAPITOL FOURTH Turns 30! Celebrate America's Birthday on PBS with Music, Fun and Fireworks!

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Jun 29, 2010, 01:15 ET

WASHINGTON, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- This July 4, America's national Independence Day celebration will mark 30 spectacular years on air. The multi-award winning A CAPITOL FOURTH, broadcast live from the West Lawn of the United States Capitol, will kick off the country's 234th birthday with a musical extravaganza like no other, topped off by the most dazzling display of fireworks anywhere in the nation!

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The 30th anniversary broadcast of A CAPITOL FOURTH will be hosted by Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor Jimmy Smits with performances from some of the country's biggest musical names including: multiple Grammy, CMA and ACM Award-winning country music superstar Reba McEntire; seven-time Grammy Award-winning music legend Gladys Knight; country music sensation Darius Rucker (Hootie & The Blowfish); singer David Archuleta (American Idol); actor and singer John Schneider; as well as world-renowned classical pianist Lang Lang with the National Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly. A CAPITOL FOURTH will air live in HD on PBS Sunday, July 4, 2010 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET (check local listings) before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, as well as to our service members around the world on the American Forces Network. A CAPITOL FOURTH can also be heard live in stereo over NPR Member stations nationwide.

"As we celebrate our freedoms and the nation's 234th birthday we continue the tradition of founding father President John Adams who called for 'pomp and parade, bonfires and illuminations,'" said executive producer Jerry Colbert. "Over the past three decades, we have been America's national Independence Day celebration. There is truly no place like the U.S. Capitol to celebrate the Fourth of July!"

"It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of A CAPITOL FOURTH," added host Jimmy Smits. "This year marks the show's 30th anniversary, a truly impressive milestone, and it continues to be a show of quality and distinction while saluting this great country of ours. The greatest fireworks lighting up our nation's capitol is a very moving and memorable experience. It is powerful and intimate all at the same time, bringing to the forefront what it is to be an American."

SOURCE Capital Concerts