WILLIE NELSON, MARY J. BLIGE, JOHN FOGERTY, COMMON, ROMEO SANTOS AND MORE 
HEADLINE PBS MUSIC SPECIAL AT THE WHITE HO– — USE
TO CELEBRATE THE U.S. MILITARY COMMUNITY
— Latest From WETA’s Emmy Award-Nominated “In Performance at the White House” Series
Also Features Active Duty Military Members and A Special USO Performance by Daughtry from their USO Tour to Japan,
Airing November 7 as Part of PBS Arts Fall Festival on PBS Stations Nationwide —

“A Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House” is a PBS music special from the South Lawn of the White House. President and Mrs. Obama will host the event on Thursday, November 6, 2014 in advance of Veterans Day and as part of The White House “Joining Forces” initiative, with an all-star tribute to the men and women who serve the United States. The concert, which will have a live audience that will include hundreds of members of the military, will feature performances by Mary J. Blige, Common, John Fogerty, Willie Nelson, Romeo Santos, and also active duty military members U.S. Army SGT. Christiana R. Ball, U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Matt Smith and Capt. John Ed Auer. Don Was will be the music director. The production is also working with the USO, for a performance by Daughtry via satellite of their USO concert at Yokota Air Base in Japan, as well as a live-viewing audience of troops from the USO Warrior and Family Center at Fort Belvoir in Virginia — both to be included in the White House concert and the broadcast. (Program subject to change.)

The program, part of the Emmy Award-nominated “In Performance at the White House” series, is the fifty-third production in the series’ thirty-six years. The sixty-minute television special is produced by WETA Washington, D.C., the flagship public broadcaster in the nation’s capital, in association with AEG Ehrlich Ventures and The GRAMMY Museum. “A Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House” will premiere Friday, November 7 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide, as part of the PBS Arts Fall Festival. (Check local listings.)  The program will also be broadcast on November 11, Veterans Day, via the American Forces Network to American service men and women and civilians at U.S. Department of Defense locations around the world.

The broadcast has been made possible by a special collaboration with USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore and USO, Inc. A joint sponsorship by The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin provides major corporate funding for this event. Additional funders include the Anne Ray Charitable Trust, The Annenberg Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS and public television viewers.

“WETA is pleased to join the White House in celebrating the U.S. military community, who serve our country with tremendous dedication and service,” stated Sharon Percy Rockefeller, president and CEO of WETA. “Through the ‘In Performance at the White House’ series, public broadcasting and WETA continue to preserve and honor the history of our country, which music captures so beautifully, and bring it to the national stage.”

“Public media is committed to honoring our nation’s veterans, who have given so much to our country. We are proud to mark Veterans Day and celebrate the military community with this ‘In Performance at the White House’,” said Paula A. Kerger, president and CEO of PBS. ”This is part of our ongoing effort to recognize the contributions and achievements of the men and women of our armed services, and use the power of our airwaves to share their stories.”

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is proud to support programs that honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women in the Armed Forces, our veterans and their families,” said Patricia S. Harrison, president and CEO of CPB. “‘A Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House’, PBS’ Stories of Service, StoryCorps Military Voices, and CPB’s Veterans Coming Home initiative connects all Americans to these stories of courage and commitment.”

For more information about “A Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House,” visit www.pbs.org/whitehouse To follow “In Performance at the White House” on Twitter, use hashtag #PBSipwh.

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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