The annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on the Charles River Esplanade is always a big part of Boston’s Fourth of July. But this year, as the country celebrates 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, the show will have some extra pop to it.
Gov. Maura Healey announced Tuesday that country star Lainey Wilson, hip-hop artist Chance The Rapper and New Orleans native Trombone Shorty are all set to perform in what will be the state’s MA250 Signature Event.
“This year we have not one, not two, but three Grammy-winning artists at the Hatch Shell on July 4th,” Healey said.
This will be the first time that each of the artists have appeared with the Pops.
Other performers include Massachusetts Poet Laureate Regie Gibson reading his poem, “Song of Massachusetts,” set to a score by Boston Symphony Orchestra Composer Chair Carlos Simon. Other local acts including the Boston Children’s Chorus as well as the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps will also perform.
The event regularly draws hundreds of thousands of spectators each year. And expectations for this year’s event are already high.
“We expect the in-person crowd to break records, maybe over 500,000, and to be one of the most diverse and inclusive ever,” said Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart.
Lockhart also announced some extra fixings for the signature fireworks show, including a Revolutionary-themed drone show.
“This year, for the first time, the fireworks will be choreographed to music performed live by the Boston Pops,” he said. “And the only thing I regret about this is that I’m not gonna be able to sit there and watch the fireworks — gotta work.”
