'The best celebration in the United States,' Boston celebrates 4th of July despite dreary weather
BOSTON – After a series of showers, weather warnings, and fear of a potential evacuation, this year's Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular dazzled Boston's skyline to a soundtrack of freedom on Tuesday night.
The show, held at the Charles River Esplanade, garners audience members from across the nation, bringing them all together under a sky full of beautiful fireworks to celebrate America's birthday.
"It's the comradery of a sea of humanity coming together for one evening of beautiful music and fireworks," said one audience member.
The show was stacked with a star-studded musical lineup featuring performances from R&B Legends En Vouge, country stars LOCASH, the U.S. Army Field Band, and of course the Boston Pops.
Regardless of genre, it's a meaningful day for the stars of the show to be playing moving music honoring our country's journey.
"Celebrating this great nation, the greatest nation on the planet," said En Vogue. "With friends and family, festive music, and the Boston Pops."
While a sea full of red, white, and blue marveled at the star-spangled celebration, conductor Keith Lockhart was at the helm of it all.
"This is really one of the highlights of my year," he said. "Year after year, this is my 28th and I have to tell you this is one of the things about my job that never gets old."
Not even mother nature could ruin the celebratory mood when lightning concerns temporarily forced the gates to close and an evacuation alert was sent out. However, Massachusetts State Police said the alert was never mandatory.
"We didn't leave, we stuck it out," said Mary Anderson, who traveled from the Midwest to attend the show. "We stayed under the tent. These nice people who did come yesterday did let us stay under the tent with them."
Regardless of the weather, Massachusetts State Police Lt. Col. John Mawn said prioritizing safety is just a part of the game, but the overall goal is to have some fun.
"En Vogue is my era and I'm looking forward to it," he said. "Never gonna get it. Never gonna get it."
Rain or shine, people were just excited to come together and celebrate what unites us, the stars and stripes forever.
"We were so thrilled and we came up from Arizona to the best celebration in the United States, in Boston and we're thrilled to be here," said Dixie Roberts.