With America’s 250th birthday on the horizon, more details have emerged on just how expansive the country’s celebration will be.
Turns out, the party is shaping up to be the nation’s largest ever — with west Kentucky and northwest Tennessee heavily involved.
Thursday morning in front of the soon-to-open Wings of Liberty Museum on Fort Campbell Boulevard, 101st Airborne Division officials — alongside country stars Charlie Daniels Jr., Aaron Tippin and Eric Lee Beddingfield — announced that Fort Campbell will be one of five anchor celebrations inked for this July 4, honoring not only the Semiquincentennial, but U.S. military history throughout the years.
The other locations taking part in America250’s “Block Party” are New York City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Charleston, South Carolina.
Garrison Commander Col. Mike Snowden said that Fort Campbell was proud to be chosen as the only military installation in this endeavor, especially as the home for some of the nation’s “finest fighting forces.”
Snowden said the division will host this Independence Day party on its Parade Field — which will feature not only the 101st Airborne Division’s Band, but also a state-of-the-art hologram performance titled the “The Legend of Charlie Daniels Tribute Concert,” as well as classic hits from Tippin and Beddingfield.
Daniels, Jr., noted that his dad — known for “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and so much more — would have turned 90 this coming October, and for decades loved performing overseas with the United Service Organization and America’s troops on the front lines.
His death came during the global pandemic, and by the time the music world reconvened, Daniels, Jr., added that it was difficult to recollect and honor his father the right way: with a farewell tour.
This, he said, “honors dad, and America, at the same time.”
Noah Gordan, of Eight Track Entertainment, knows the Daniels family well. He was a farm boy out of Illinois when he started writing songs, and joined the elder Charlie as a mentee — drinking up life on the road, life on the radio and life on television.
Now, life has come full circle.
Tippin has his own list of top records, including “You’ve Got To Stand For Something” and “There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With The Radio,” and has also spent time downrange with the USO, and his career actually began alongside Bob Hope entertaining troops in the Persian Gulf during “Desert Shield.”
This opportunity, he said, is remarkable.
Sponsorship spokesman Drew Tutton, of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, said this all started as a table conversation with Eight Track Entertainment, InTune Entertainment and American Roots Records CEO Jeff Catton, as well as the Daniels family in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Charlie’s music, they say, needed to come “back to life, based on where the country is at.”
Organizers say the free event is expected to draw more than 100,000 attendees and will include a week of festivities beginning July 1, with carnival rides, interactive exhibits and community activities leading up to July 4.
Through a partnership with iHeartMedia, more than 350 million Americans will be able to tune in to a unified audio livestream of celebrations happening coast-to-coast.
In addition to concerts and festivals, America250 is also launching a nationwide “Giving Fourth” initiative—an effort to turn Independence Day into what organizers hope will become the largest single day of charitable giving in U.S. history.
Other planned events include Major League Baseball games in ballparks nationwide, a tall ships parade in New York Harbor, a time capsule ceremony in Philadelphia and a national day of reflection on July 5.
