Tonight, the first of the two biggest annual concerts to hit our nation’s capital will air tonight on our own local PBS stations! The 29th Annual National Memorial Day Concert will take place on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. This special event continues to honor the men and women who currently serve and have served in the US Armed Forces.

2018 marks a special year for the concert. It is the 70th Anniversary of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act and the 150th of observance of Memorial Day.

Nashville star Charles Esten, who calls Alexandria, VA home, said of his first time being part of the annual event “This to me is a dream come true to be right here at this great event. Memorial Day is an important day to me, for so many others but it’s always important to keep it in your mind what is special about it and why we’re here and what we are commemorating.”

Oscar winner and star of CBS’s sitcom Mom, Allison Janney will help pay tribute to the Women in Service. Janney stated that during the rehearsal, “I got very teary-eyed and quite moved and honored to be here and get to ask all the women who have served since WWII to come up on stage and talk about all the women who served even before they were allowed to and they things they did like disguised themselves as men to served and its extraordinary!”

The concert would not be a grand concert without its musical performances. This year, we will see the talents of Alfie Boe, Leona Lewis, the National Symphony Orchestra led by Jack Everly and the Lt. Dan Band with co-host Sinise on bass guitar.

Broadway star Megan Hilty will sing the patriotic anthem “God Bless America” in honor of the 100th anniversary of the song. Hilty said of being part of the NMDC “I love being part of this concert in particular so that we can honor our military families, those who have given their lives for our country and our freedom so we can take a day and really honor them.”

Chicago Med star Brian Tee and Sex and the City John Corbett partner up to tell the story of Korean War veteran and buddies Joe Annello and Hiroshi “Hershey” Miyamura. When asked how he felt to participate in the story of Annello and Miyamura, Tee stated “It’s an honor, a blessing and a privilege to be able to share this story. Through their friendship kind of survive the Korean War and even today out spreading the Korean War in the sense of being the forgotten war but they don’t want to forget that there were 7,000 that made the ultimate sacrifice in that war.”

Season 14 The Voice finalist Spensha Baker will perform two songs at the event said of the military members serving here and abroad “We honor you men and women serving our country. We love you. We support you. I’m a child of two military parents. My appreciation is through the roof. I know that the reasons we have the freedoms we have is because of the work you’re doing. So thank you and god bless you.”

The National Memorial Day Concert will broadcast live on PBS from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on this Sunday, May 27th at 8pm EST. An encore presentation will soon follow the initial broadcast.

For more information on the NMDC, go to http://www.pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert/

About The Author

Dean Rogers

Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter

I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!

My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.

Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.

As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.

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