photos by Colin Kerrigan

Earth, Wind & Fire help Philly celebrate Independence Day

A little after 1 p.m., the Parkway was already jammed with people who had come from near and far for the Fourth of July celebration in Philadelphia - and it stayed that way well into the night as the Roots repeatedly rocked the stage, and Earth, Wind & Fire's Philip Bailey hit some stratospheric high notes.

Many came in red, white, and blue attire, with their children, their spouses, and their dogs.

Courtney Beckett, 22, a medical assistant from West Chester, even brought her six-foot boa constrictor, Sampson.

"They're cold-blooded, so they need heat," she explained as her cousin, Zhabree Jacobs, 8, let the reptile curl around her shoulders.

And, boy, did that snake get grilled.

Temperatures pushed 90 most of the day at the Wawa Welcome America celebration Monday, as people ate gyros and cheesesteaks, swayed to music, and reunited with friends and family to party Philadelphia-style.

Organizers had no official crowd count, although Mayor Nutter said, "This might be the largest Fourth of July event ever." The event has been known to draw a million or more people.

With a pink-and-orange sunset in the background and Sara Bareilles and the Roots performing. [Philly.com]

The Roots hosted and performed at their Fourth of July Jam in Philly with Earth Wind and Fire, Michael McDonald, Estelle, Sara Bareilles, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Boyz II Men and others. The concert, which was billed as "the largest free concert in America," lived up to its title, though as expected at a concert that big, not everyone has a positive experience. According to Anthony Sbarro, "Way too many people at the Roots Fourth Of July on the Parkway concert. Good luck to whomever is going! I'd recommend against it." Tamika Chandler posted a video to her YouTube account of what she dubbed the "4th of July Jam Fiasco." The video description and tags read:

People arguing & fighting. I wanted to enjoy the concert but because so many people were trying to budge in front of those who were smart enough to be early and sitting down in their own seats, I ended up filming the entertaining arguments/fights that arose from this.

Parkway, Philadelphia, Philly, Jam, Concert, Fourth, 4th, of, July, Fireworks, Fights, Beer, Drunk, Arguing, Arguments, yelling, crowded, crowds, kids, pot, marijuana, smoking, wild, fiasco, rude, the roots, earth, wind, fire, &, and, PA, pennsylvania, city, mayor, nutter, police, popo, smh, penn's landing, downtown, city, delaware river, wawa, michael mcdonald, sarah bareilles

Check out her video work, and a video of Estelle and Michael McDonald performing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" together, below.

In other Roots news, Black Thought plays Brooklyn Bowl tonight (7/5) with J. Period, Mr. Mecca, Skotch Davis, Boogie Blind and DJ Suga Ray. Questlove DJs the same venue every Thursday. This Thursday is a "special free edition".

More pictures and videos from the 4th of July Jam below...

Continue reading "The Roots celebrated 4th of July in Philly w/ Earth, Wind & Fire, Estelle, Michael McDonald & more (pics & video)"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

"No more room at she and him, walking over to Rosanne Cash"
- Lisa Davis (July 4th, 1:49pm)

"It was 3 squillion degrees on Gov's Isle but SUCH fun afternoon, & a tweetup! Heard ferry lines were long. Next year, extra ferries please!" - Rosanne Cash

I accidentally lied when I said there wouldn't be any more concerts this summer in "Colonel's Row" on Governors Island. Though it wasn't quite the production that the ticketed-nighttime Passion Pit gig was, the free, July 4th afternoon Rosanne Cash show was held in the same spot. The She & Him show happened right afterward on the same island, but at The Beach. And as the above tweet points out, it would have been impossible hard to see both shows due to She & Him reaching capacity before Rosanne Cash even started....

"You are wrong. It was far from impossible to catch both. Getting there at 12:30, we got wrist bands into She and Him then headed over to Rosanne Cash and walked right back into She and Him when Cash was done. The trick was to get there early and it was kind of funny watching the people stuck outside the beach grumbling to security about letting us in. Next time get there early fools." [Anonymous]

Rosanne, who has a memoir coming out in August and will be Steve Earle & Alison Moorer's special guest at City Winery this week, was joined on stage by a band that included her husband John Leventhal. They ended their Independence Day set with a patriotic mashup of Boulevard of Broken Dreams/500 Miles/This Land Is Your Land.

The full setlist and more pictures from the show below...

Continue reading "Rosanne Cash played Governors Island on the 4th of July - pics & setlist"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

"at the "she and him" show on governors island. zooey deschanel is ridiculously adorable." - Sonal Dutt

She & Him helped NYC celebrate Independence Day with a free concert on Governors Island. The Sunday late-afternoon, Converse-presented show reached capacity early despite the intense heat wave we're currently still experiencing. Those who made it got a 20+ song setlist from M. Ward, Zooey Deschanel and band, and an opening set by their Merge label-mates Oakley Hall. Both setlists are below.

Those who got there a couple of hours earlier may have checked out a free show by Rosanne Cash in another area of the island (pics coming soon), and it's possible some people were also on the island the night before to see a free show by Portugal. The Man (pics coming soon).

She & Him do it again Tuesday night at Terminal 5 in Manhattan. The sold out (tickets were $30 each) 2nd NYC show has comedian Eugene Mirman listed as the opener. More pictures and the setlists from Governors Island below...

Continue reading "She & Him and Oakley Hall played the Beach at Governors Island - pics & setlist"

She & Him @ Bowery Ballroom in March (more by sarahana)

She & Him will be coming to NYC for two shows this July as part of their summer tour dates. All of those shows are posted below.

So far, music on July 4th in NYC includes kids music at Battery Park, the Old 97s at South Street Seaport, and a free 2pm Rosanne Cash show on Governors Island (presented by Trinity Wall Street) - you can add to that a free She & Him show at the Beach @ Governors Island (presented by The Bowery Presents, Highline Ballroom and Mad Dog Presents). Roseanne Cash and She & Him - same date, same island, separate shows. She & Him time TBA.

Two days after that (7/6), She & Him play Terminal 5. Tickets for the not-free show go on AmEx presale Wednesday, April 28th at 11am. General tickets go on sale Friday at noon.

Last time they were in NYC, in March, She & Him played two nights at Bowery Ballroom.

All tour dates (quite a few around North America, and Europe before then) are below...

Continue reading "She & Him playing a free 4th of July show on Governors Island (Rosanne Cash too), Terminal 5 & other 2010 tour dates "

Advice for attending July 4th fireworks: arrive early and expect crowds [Everything Hudson]

Another piece of advice -- be in New Jersey or Manhattan. This year's Macy's 4th of July fireworks are going to be located in the Hudson River only, so spots in Brooklyn and Queens won't have a very good view (if any). They kick off at 9pm. Viewing locations HERE.

What are you doing on the 4th? Below we've listed a bunch of other options if you'll be in NYC (and a few if you want to leave)...

Continue reading "Independence Day 2009 - 4th of July events in NYC (Conor Oberst, Woodsist Fest, Japanther, Feelies, fireworks, more)"