San Angelo LIVE! Brings 4th of July Fireworks to the River Stage

SAN ANGELO, TX — This will be the biggest party in San Angelo since the dreaded pandemic began. Now that’s over, and the time has come to showcase San Angelo. This extravaganza is free and open to all when our city celebrates Independence Day with fireworks and a concert on Saturday, July 3, 2021, at the Bill Aylor, Sr. Memorial River Stage.

The concert is organized by the team at San Angelo LIVE! in partnership with Downtown San Angelo, Inc.

Situated on the Concho River downtown, the River Stage comes alive starting at 6:30 p.m. with a two-part concert. Part 1 incorporates the symphonic performances.

The symphonic section starts with jazz featuring the West Texas Jazz Orchestra comprised of area professional musicians, music professors, high and school band directors. This band’s featured music selections are by composers such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Glenn Miller. They also perform other popular big band and jazz music. 

Next, Mariachi Alma Mexicana performs. This professional mariachi group has been entertaining west Texas with its traditional music from Mexico since 2001.

The San Angelo Community Band is next. This all-volunteer, non-profit organization’s goal is to perform for all of San Angelo the great symphonic band classics. They’ll perform John Phillip Sousa marches like “The Liberty Bell March.” Other composers the community band often performs include the works of cornetist Herbert L. Clark who pioneered the modern symphonic brass sound.

The headliner for the symphonic performances will be the U.S. Air Force Band of the West. Based at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, this band has performed for presidents, heads of state, and dignitaries from around the world earning an outstanding reputation among America's military bands.

The highlight on the evening comes during the U.S. Air Force Band of the West’s performance of Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. The 1812 Overture did not originate as an American composition, as the piece was inspired by the bravery of the Russians who defeated Napoleon and the French at Moscow that year. Another two-year-long War of 1812, however, involved the United States, where the U.S. Capitol building was burned to the ground by the British during the Battle of Washington. U.S. forces later defeated the British for the second time since 1776 during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814. It was during that battle that Francis Scott Key, inspired by the American’s fierce defense of Fort McHenry, penned the lyrics to the Star-Spangled Banner.

The 1812 Overture performed by the Band of the West will be punctuated by cannon fire from Fort Concho’s cannons. Several circa 1860s era cannon will be situated across the Concho River from the River Stage and will fire multiple rounds towards the stage (blanks, of course!). Throughout the Overture performance, Ken Landon and crew will be firing off a large fireworks display from Celebration Bridge.

While the 1812 Overture is not directly connected with the American War of 1812, its themes of triumph and patriotism, and the traditional use of fireworks and cannon fire during the performance, have turned it into a traditional American 4th of July celebration composition.

After the fireworks, cannon fire, and the 1812 Overture are over, the River Stage will be quickly reconfigured for the second part: The After Party.

Featured for the After Party is the finest Fleetwood Mac tribute band in Texas called Forever Mac. From Dallas, Forever Mac is comprised of six veteran Dallas musicians who share a fascination of the iconic band to whom they play tribute. Together, their show brings you an almost never ending variety of Fleetwood Mac song arrangements from a music repertoire that spans four decades.

The entire concert will be LIVE Streamed by the San Angelo LIVE! camera crew. The video production will be shown live simultaneously on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and the San Angelo LIVE! website. The video show will feature interviews and backstage antics happening in-between performances. We expect over 50,000 people nationwide will watch a portion of the program online.

An interesting backstory about the show is that some San Angelo musicians in the jazz orchestra and community band will play their instruments to augment the U.S. Air Force Band of the West. This will highlight a reason among many why San Angelo is designated by the State of Texas as a Music Friendly City.

Full concessions will be available throughout the River Stage area. There will be food trucks in Neff’s Park across the river. Because of the fireworks display, Celebration Bridge will be closed. The Oakes Street and Chadbourne Street bridges will also be closed during the symphonic portion of the evening. The bridges may reopen during the After Party after the debris has been cleared.

Downtown San Angelo, Inc., The City of San Angelo, The San Angelo Fire Department and Police Department, Fort Concho, REACT, the Marine Corps Detachment at Goodfellow Air Force Base, and the many sponsors that will be announced soon helped put this show together quickly. We hope everyone will attend in-person or online as we celebrate the best city in Texas during the Independence Day holiday weekend.

The show will commence rain or shine.

In brief:

• What: Star-Spangled Banner Concert and Fireworks
• Where: Bill Aylor, Sr. Memorial Riverstage, 16 E. Avenue A
• When: Saturday, July 3, 2021. Music starts at 6:30 p.m.; gates open at noon. Claim your spot!

Schedule (tentative):

• 6:30 p.m. San Angelo Community Band
• 7:45 p.m. Mariachi Alma Mexicano
• 8:45 p.m. West Texas Jazz Orchestra
• 9:45 p.m. U.S. Air Force Band of the West
• 10:40 p.m. Fireworks, cannon fire
• 11 p.m. Forever Mac tribute to Fleetwood Mac
• 12:45 a.m. End of Show in the early hours of July 4, 2021

The best seats in the entire city for the Star-Spangled Banner Fireworks and Concert on Saturday, July 3, are right up next to the stage at the VIP tables. Included with each table are VIP parking passes to park up close to the main gate along with mentions during the concert that will be viewed by 10,000 people in person and more than 50,000 more on the San Angelo LIVE! video Live Stream. We are limited to 40 tables and more than half have been sold. Tables seat eight and all VIP attendees will be served a variety of 4th of July-themed heavy hors d’oeuvres by Cynthia Diego’s Besos Events. There will be a wait staff on hand to serve the tables from the VIP cash beer and wine bar. VIP-only restrooms will be nearby as well. We invite area business leaders and folks who want to be recognized for hosting the largest party for San Angelo to get a table today! VIP tables are $1,000 each. Call San Angelo LIVE! at (325) 340-1238 or email [email protected] to reserve yours. Or, you can order your VIP tables on Stubwire. Click here.