America250 has unveiled the biggest music event yet tied to the nation’s 250th birthday celebration: Chris Stapleton and the Smashing Pumpkins will headline America’s Block Party, a July 4 concert at the 78,000-capacity Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum hosted by Queen Latifah.
Additional performers are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, with tickets priced at $17.76 and proceeds benefiting Feeding America through the organization’s Giving 4th initiative. Click here for more information.
The event is part of a broader effort by America250 — the congressionally authorized, nonpartisan organization charged with helping lead the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration — to create what it describes as a nationwide, values-based commemoration built around service, culture, education and civic engagement. Per its web site, it’s the “only national, nonpartisan organization charged by Congress to help lead the celebration and commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”
“As we celebrate our 250th anniversary, we have an opportunity to bring Americans together around the values that continue to unite us,” said America250 chair Rosie Rios. “Giving back represents the best part of the American spirit, and through Giving 4th, we’re aiming to establish a new, nationwide season of giving, anchored around July 4.”
For Queen Latifah, who will host the event, the appeal goes beyond the music. “Los Angeles knows how to put on a show, and hosting America’s Block Party at the L.A. Coliseum is going to be something special,” she said. “This is a chance to celebrate a once-in-a-generation milestone with great music, real energy, and a purpose that reaches far beyond the stadium.”
Added Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, “playing the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on July 4 for America’s 250th is a rare kind of momentt. We’ve always believed in the power of music to be a unifying principle. It brings people together and allows them to express themselves in a forum that has a common destination — and it allows all of us the opportunity to participate in a celebration that has meaning, history and impact.”
The announcement also highlights the widening gap between America250 and the Donald Trump administration’s separate Freedom 250 initiative, which instantly became the butt of jokes after unveiling plans for its Great American State Fair concert series on the National Mall from June 25 through July 10. Nearly every confirmed performer, including Poison’s Bret Michaels and throwbacks like Milli Vanilli, has since canceled, leading Trump to repeatedly change the event to something different.
As of today (June 15), he was planning to host a July 4 rally at both the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument featuring military bands and orchestras.