FREE, STAR-STUDDED CONCERTS BRING COOL MUSIC TO PHILADELPHIA OVER FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND
Elton John, Will Smith, Philadelphia Orchestra And Philly Pops Celebrate Freedom In Philly

PHILADELPHIA, May 27, 2005 – From Penn’s Landing to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and beyond, Philadelphia will be rocking this Fourth of July weekend with free concerts covering nearly every musical genre at the city’s landmark attractions. Whether it’s the opera or the orchestra, gospel or rhythm-and-blues, the 1.5 million visitors expected to converge upon Philadelphia for America’s premier birthday celebration will have a musical smorgasbord to choose from over the four-day weekend. Here’s a look at what visitors will hear:

• June 26, 2005: Sunoco Welcome America!, the city’s 13-year old Independence Day celebration, presents Gospel @ the Mann, featuring Donnie McClurkin, one of today’s most popular gospel artists, in an energetic performance at Fairmount Park’s Mann Center for the Performing Arts from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
   

• June 29, 2005: The Sunoco Welcome America! celebration continues with Opera on the Square, an exquisite twilight concert taking place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Rittenhouse Square and starring Maestro Leslie Dunner and a cast of singers from the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts.
   

• July 1, 2005: July 1, 2005: The famed Philadelphia Orchestra performs at the Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing along the Delaware River from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
   

• July 2, 2005:
  
      • Two decades after Philadelphia’s precedent-setting Live Aid concert, a show that raised unparalleled global awareness and funds for the war against hunger, Bob Geldof prepares to do it again. Called Live 8, the free concert in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, will feature an ever-growing line-up of artists, including Dave Matthews, Will Smith, Sarah McLachlan, Bon Jovi, Rob Thomas and Stevie Wonder. The goal of the concert is to influence world leaders at the G8 Summit “to make poverty history.” www.live8live.org  

      • Welcome America’s first annual rhythm-and-blues concert features nationally acclaimed American Idol winner Ruben Studdard and pop music diva Stephanie Mills. Taking place at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., the concert will celebrate the legacy of music producers, Gamble & Huff, creators of The Sound of Philadelphia, and their founding of the national Rhythm and Blues Foundation in Philadelphia.
   

• July 3, 2005: For the second year in a row, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops will take to the stage in front of Independence Hall to perform a free concert in honor of the nation’s birthday and to celebrate the first-time lighting of this historic building. The concert will begin at 8:00 p.m. and conclude with the lighting ceremony at sundown.
   

• July 4, 2005: The week-long music fest ends with the Sunoco Philadelphia Freedom Concert on the famed steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Sir Elton John makes a rare, free concert performance with special guests Patti LaBelle, Bryan Adams, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, Walter Cronkite and others to raise awareness of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Presented by the Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld Fund and the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the two-hour concert begins at 8:30 p.m. The Philadelphia Freedom Ball, a fundraiser for HIV/AIDS programs and services, will be held prior to the concert. Tickets include VIP seating for the concert. For more information, visit www.phillyfreedom.net.

In addition to these musical offerings, visitors can catch today’s top artists at Warmdaddy’s, World Cafe Live, North By Northwest and other popular venues throughout the region. For more information on Fourth of July festivities in Philadelphia and to book a hotel package, visit www.gophila.com or call (800) 537-7676. More information is also available at www.americasbirthday.com, unless otherwise noted.

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Sunoco Welcome America! is Philadelphia’s annual celebration of the Independence Day holiday. The nine-day, family-friendly festival, taking place from June 26 through July 4, 2005, is the largest of its kind in America. The celebration features music, entertainment, international cuisine and the best fireworks in the country. For more information, visit www.americasbirthday.com.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) builds the region’s economy and image through destination marketing to increase the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do in the five-county region. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676

2005

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