Two-Time Grammy Award-Winning Singer LeAnn Rimes to Headline 2025 Boston Pops July 4 Fireworks Spectacular Celebrating Massachusetts 250

Keith Lockhart and Pops also Welcome Multifaceted Tony and Grammy Award-Winning Vocalist Leslie Odom, Jr. and

Pioneering Hip-Hop Trio and Boston’s Own Bell Biv DeVoe to Perform at the Beloved Independence Day Concert at the Hatch Shell

Also Joining the Pops on the Charles River Esplanade are the U.S. Army Field Band Soldiers’ Chorus and Boston Children’s Chorus

The concert will be broadcast locally in Boston on WHDH-TV Channel 7 (7–10 p.m. ET) and nationally on The CW Network (9–10 p.m. ET/PT) on Friday, July 4

Visit the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular website for complete event

information, including resources to help you plan your trip and sponsors.

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To register for July Fourth media credentials, contact Steve MacDonald at stageaccess@aol.com

For interviews with Keith Lockhart, contact Matthew Erikson at merikson@bso.org

For a Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular press kit, click here

(Boston, MA) — The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular returns to the Hatch Shell on the Charles River Esplanade for its 51st year on Friday, July 4, 7–10 p.m. Keith Lockhart, celebrating his 30th anniversary as conductor of the Boston Pops, leads the orchestra alongside a talented lineup of guest performers headlined by multiplatinum selling singer-songwriter LeAnn Rimes along with Leslie Odom, Jr., Bell Biv DeVoe, the U.S. Army Field Band Soldiers’ Chorus, and Boston Children’s Chorus. The free concert is part of the Commonwealth’s Massachusetts 250 (MA250) initiative honoring America’s revolutionary history and includes a collection of patriotic favorites, performed by the Pops, closing with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. The musical performance will be followed by a fireworks display over the Charles River, beginning at approximately 9:40 p.m.

The performance will be broadcast to a national audience on The CW Network, as well as locally on WHDH-TV Channel 7 (click here for additional tune-in details). The local broadcast coverage runs from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET with The CW’s national presentation airing from 9 to 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Statement from Keith Lockhart, Boston Pops Conductor:

“Every one of our July 4 concerts is special to me. But this year, it will be just a bit more special because I am celebrating 30 years as conductor of the Boston Pops. That’s 30 years of fireworks, 30 years of performing the 1812 Overture, hundreds of dazzling guest artists, and 30 years of magical nights on stage at the Hatch Shell with this phenomenal orchestra. But my 30th anniversary can’t compare with the other big anniversary we’re celebrating this year: the 250th anniversary of “the shot heard round the world,” and Massachusetts’ role as the very cradle of the American Revolution. Our fabulous artists—LeAnn Rimes, Leslie Odom, Jr., Boston Children’s Chorus, the U.S. Army Field Band Soldiers’ Chorus, and Boston’s own Bel Biv DeVoe—are most definitely befitting the significance of the event. I can’t wait!”

Statement from Chad Smith, BSO President and CEO:

“For more than half a century, the Boston Pops July 4 Fireworks Spectacular has been one of the nation’s most iconic Independence Day celebrations, drawing hundreds of thousands to the Charles River Esplanade and millions more watching on television and online. It is fitting that this year’s event is part of the Commonwealth’s year-long Massachusetts 250 (MA250) celebration commemorating America’s revolutionary history, which began 250 years ago right here in Boston. It is also Keith Lockhart’s 30th anniversary as the Boston Pops conductor. The Boston Symphony is honored to again host this free concert, and we are so grateful to Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, and Commissioner Arrigo and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation for their partnership in this event, and to Mayor Wu and the City of Boston for their continued support. We are also grateful to our Presenting Sponsor The Herb Chambers Foundation, our Supporting Sponsors Meet Boston, Biogen, and Fairmont Copley Plaza, and to The Mugar Foundation for supporting the fireworks.

“We hope you will join us at Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood in the Berkshires for concerts and events throughout the coming year that will explore America’s history, music, and ideals—one piece, one story at a time. And save the date to be here next July 4 for our biggest celebration yet.”

Guest Artists Performing with the Boston Pops

LeAnn Rimes is an international multiplatinum selling acclaimed singer and ASCAP award-winning songwriter who has sold more than 48 million units globally, won 2 Grammy® Awards; 12 Billboard Music Awards; 2 World Music Awards; 3 Academy of Country Music Awards; 2 Country Music Association Awards and a Dove Award. At 14, Rimes won “Best New Artist” making her the youngest recipient to take home a Grammy® Award. A passionate advocate for social change, LeAnn has been honored with the Ally of Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign for over 20 years of equal rights support, the 2019 HOPE Award for Depression Advocacy, and the 2009 ACM Humanitarian Award, among other recognitions. Rimes performed with Lockhart and the Boston Pops at the<> 2003 Fireworks Spectacular and at Tanglewood’s July 4 celebration in 2006.

Leslie Odom, Jr. is a Tony and Grammy® Award-winning, three-time Emmy and two-time Academy Award-nominated songwriter, actor, and a New York Times bestselling author. Well known for his breakout role as ‘Aaron Burr’ in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical Hamilton, Odom is set to make a highly anticipated return to his award-winning role on September 9 through November

  • Last season, he made his long-awaited return to Broadway as a producer, alongside his beloved Nicolette Robinson and the gracious Jeffrey Richards, with the classic American comedy Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch written by the legendary Ossie Davis. He most recently appeared with Lockhart and the Pops in Presenting Leslie Odom, Jr., a part of the 2019 Spring Pops season at Symphony Hall.

Bell Biv DeVoe, known for their pioneering sound that blends “hip-hop smoothed out on the R&B tip with a pop-feel-appeal to it,” emerged as a breakout act from the iconic New Edition following the group’s tour in support of their 1988 album, Heart Break. The trio—Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ronnie DeVoe, all original members of New Edition—formed on the advice of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to explore a more street-oriented approach to contemporary R&B. They received a Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 and have maintained a strong presence, headlining arenas, fairs, festivals, and joining New Edition reunion tours. In 2023, they won an Emmy Award for their documentary BBD @ Fenway, which spotlights their performance of the national anthem with the Boston Pops at Fenway Park for the NHL’s Winter Classic.

Founded in 1957, the Soldiers’ Chorus is the vocal component of The United States Army Field Band of Washington, DC. This 29-member mixed chorus travels throughout the nation and abroad, performing both independently and jointly with the Army Field Band’s Concert Band. The Soldiers’ Chorus has performed in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, India, and throughout Europe. In addition to choral repertoire, Soldiers’ Chorus performances often include Broadway, opera, popular music, jazz, Americana, and more. This versatility

contributes to the Soldiers’ Chorus’s nationwide reputation for musical excellence and inspiring patriotism. The chorus has performed with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops on a number of occasions, most recently for the Fireworks Spectacular in 2023.

Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC) was founded in 2003 by Hubie Jones, a civic leader who has worked for six decades to address the social challenges facing Boston’s underserved children and communities. Named Boston’s “Ambassadors of Harmony” by the Boston Globe, BCC harnesses the power of music to connect Boston’s diverse communities, cultivate empathy, and inspire social inquiry. The chorus has performed at venues including Symphony Hall and TD Garden in Boston, Royal Albert Hall in London, the Sydney Opera House, and the White House. BCC has appeared in TED Talks, made regular appearances on local TV and radio networks, and performed with high-profile artists such as Idina Menzel, Javier Muñoz, Hugh Jackman, and Leslie Odom, Jr. They previously performed with the Pops at the Fireworks Spectacular in 2007 and 2014.

Click here for a press kit with full bios and photos of guest artists.

Sponsors

The Herb Chambers Foundation is the Presenting Sponsor of the 2025 Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, with additional support from returning sponsors Meet Boston, Biogen, and Fairmont Copley Plaza (The Official Hotel of the Boston Pops). The Mugar Foundation supports the post-concert fireworks (The Mugar Family Fireworks). The event is hosted on the Charles River Esplanade through the generosity of the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR). We are pleased to welcome Massachusetts 250 (MA250) as a new sponsor in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the role Massachusetts played in the fight for America’s freedom in 1775, leading up to the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Public Safety Information and Site Restrictions

The rehearsal on July 3 is closed to the public.

Gates will open to the public at 12 p.m. (noon) on July 4.

Alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis are prohibited on the Esplanade per Mass DCR rules.

More public safety information including details about when Storrow Drive will be closed to vehicles will be provided by state officials closer to the day of the show and be posted on the event website.

About the Boston Pops July 4 Fireworks Spectacular

Since 1929, the Boston Symphony’s Pops orchestra has performed its free Independence Day concert on the Esplanade, a beloved Boston tradition first conceived by Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler and carried on by John Williams and, since 1995, Keith Lockhart. A fireworks display became part of the tradition in 1974 when the late David Mugar became the event’s producer, which he remained until 2016. In 2017, the Pops opened a new page in the BSO’s history, presenting its first self-produced Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. Read more about the event’s history.

Press Contacts

Jan Devereux, Senior Director of Public Relations & Communications, BSO (jdevereux@bso.org)

Matthew Erikson, Senior Publicist and Media Relations Lead (merikson@bso.org)

Rena Cohen, Publicist (rcohen@bso.org)

More BSO News

For more news about the BSO and Boston Pops, read our recent press releases or follow us on social media.