Country Superstars 'Little Big Town' Join Boston 4th Of July Lineup
BOSTON (CBS) - Grammy Award winning country group Little Big Town has been added to Boston's 4th of July lineup. They will be playing live on the Hatch Shell stage as part of the annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, broadcast nationwide on CBS.
Little Big Town joins previously announced artists Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas, who will be accompanied by the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Keith Lockhart.
The concert will be broadcast nationwide on the CBS Network from 9 p.m to 11 p.m. Locally, WBZ-TV viewers will be treated to an additional hour from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. The program will be streaming on CBS All Access. Radio listeners can hear the concert live on WBZ NewsRadio 1030 and Mix 104.1 FM.
This is the 43rd year for the free, outdoor July 4th concert, which is attended by more than half a million people. Families camp out all day on the Esplanade waiting for the Boston Pops to play favorites like the 1812 Overture and the Patriotic Sing Along. It's all capped off by a stunning fireworks display over the Charles River.
The tradition was started in 1974 by then-conductor Arthur Fiedler and Boston businessman David Mugar, who said he's thrilled the show will be back on national television after a three year absence.
"It was missed by many, many people," he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 last month. "CBS actually called us back in January and said, 'We want back in. This is a big show and there really could be even a bigger show. We want to sign some top talent.'"
Little Big Town, consisting of Karen Fairchild, Phillip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman and Jimi Westbrook, has earned multiple Grammy, CMA and ACM Awards in recent years. Their hit song "Girl Crush" won the 2016 Grammy for Best Country Song and the CMA for Song of the Year. Their latest album Wanderlust was released earlier this month, produced by Pharrell Williams.
Lovato released her fifth album, "Confident" last year. Jonas released his second solo album, "Last Year Was Complicated," this month. The pair launches their nationwide tour at the end of June, which brings them to Boston's TD Garden on July 20.