First of all, happy 4th of July to all you who live in the US. It is a time to remember those who lost their lives in the fight for freedom and a time to get together with family and friends.
Many heavy hitters in the music business will be celebrating Independence Day with concerts around the country. As you can see, it is very apparent the diversity represented in the musical tastes in this country:
Kenny Chesney with Miranda Lambert Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA. Kenny Chesney teams up with Miranda Lambert for one of the nation’s biggest 4th of July concerts. Sam Hunt and Old Dominion will also be on the bill.
5 Seconds of Summer Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn.; Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pa.
Australian import 5 Seconds of Summer has taken the world by storm, and the release of the band’s sophomore album, “Sounds Good Feels Good,” late last year inspired a summer 2016 tour to visit North America. The group will be traveling along the East Coast the weekend of 4th of July.
Garth Brooks T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nev.
Country music great Garth Brooks is set to headline Las Vegas’ newest music venue, T-Mobile Arena, in several concerts over 4th of July weekend. With his wife Trisha Yearwood on board as opening act.
Guns N Roses Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill. On July 1, rock fans in the Midwest can kick off 4th of July weekend by seeing one of the country’s most prominent bands reunited on stage. The Guns N Roses tour will make its way to Chicago that weekend as part of its ongoing reunion trek featuring Axl Rose and Slash together for the first time in more than two decades.
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra Fireworks Spectacular Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, Calif. In what has become an annual tradition, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra will perform a series of three 4th of July concerts from July 2-4. Each performance will feature recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Chicago, as well as a massive fireworks display to celebrate Independence Day.
Billy Joel PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pa. The night before Kenny Chesney and Miranda Lambert take over Heinz Field, Billy Joel will be down the street headlining a show at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park..
Paul Simon Forest Hills Stadium, Forest Hills, N.Y.
Paul Simon will wrap up his 2016 tour dates at the start of 4th of July weekend. The folk icon has two hometown concerts booked at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium on June 30 and July 1.
Sting and Peter Gabriel DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.; Coney Island Amphitheater, Brooklyn, N.Y. British rock icons Sting and Peter Gabriel are spending the summer of 2016 in the U.S. with their co-headlining venture, the Rock Paper Scissors Tour. The venture is scheduled for a handful of East Coast shows over Independence Day weekend, including a stop at Brooklyn’s brand new Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk on July 3.
James Taylor Tanglewood, Lenox, Mass. James Taylor’s, Boston native, annual 4th of July celebration will return to Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., in 2016 for two nights of live music. The songwriting icon has performed at the spacious outdoor venue more than two dozen times over the course of his career.
Twenty One Pilots Amway Center, Orlando, Fla. BB&T Center, Sunrise, Fla.; St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine, Fla. Powerhouse duo Twenty One Pilots this July the band will support their new single and its latest album “Blurryface” with a number of shows in Florida, including arena shows in Orlando and Sunrise.
Weezer and Panic! At the Disco Xfinity Center, Mansfield, Mass. PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, N.J.; Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pa. Another big co-headlining tour heading to the East Coast this 4th of July weekend pairs the alt-rock heroes Weezer with Panic! At the Disco. The two outfits will spend the first weekend of July at a number of amphitheaters across Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Justin Bieber American Airlines Arena, Miami, Fla.
This 4th of July weekend in Miami, two Justin Bieber concerts. The shows at American Airlines Arena are part of the Canadian star’s ongoing Purpose World Tour.
SHERYL CROW will headline the 2016 Music City July 4 celebration. The lineup also includes Maddie & Tae, Rayland Baxter, Erin McCarley, Andrew Combs, Ruby Amanfu, and the Nashville Symphony.
Willie Nelson‘s annual Fourth of July Picnic will return to Circuit of the Americas’ Austin360 Amphitheater for the second year in a row in 2016, In 2015, Nelson’s yearly picnic came back to Austin, Texas, for the first time in five years. This year, for the event’s 43rd year, more than 20 acts are booked to play on two stages, including Brantley Gilbert, Kris Kristofferson, Jamey Johnson with Alison Krauss, Lee Ann Womack, Asleep at the Wheel, Billy Joe Shaver, Shakey Graves, Leon Russell, Ray Wylie Hubbard, David Allan Coe and Margo Price. Nelson & Family, Jamestown Revival, Cody Johnson, Johnny Bush, Paula Nelson, the Raelyn Nelson Band, Folk Uke, Dallas Wayne and Amber Digby are also slated to perform. Russell, Shaver and Coe are all Fourth of July Picnic veterans: They each performed during the first year of the event, when it was held in Dripping Springs, Texas.