Photos by Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

Troy Baker, 12, of Moneta came to the festivities with a red, white and blue mohawk.

Lois McConnell takes pictures of her family.

Tess Seibel, 9, and Andrew Seibel, 6, watch fireworks next to their grandfather Jim Ibach.

Nothing compares with the rush of hand-lighting fireworks.

At least that's what James Irby believes. He has sky-dived and bungee-jumped, but says he would choose the thrill of lighting a firework any day.

"It's indescribable," said Irby, of Altavista. "There's nothing like it."

Hand-lit fireworks shows are quickly being replaced by shows featuring fireworks that are ignited electrically, even though Irby prefers the adrenaline rush of lighting fireworks by hand.

Irby worked as the lead shooter for Pyrotecnico at The Roanoke Times Music for Americans fireworks show Friday night. Pyrotecnico has put on the fireworks show for the past 10 years, according to the event's organizer, Nan Mahone, Roanoke Times marketing director.

The annual Fourth of July celebration featured electrically lit fireworks for the first time Friday. Electrically lit fireworks made up the show's lower-level display, but Irby used an equal number of hand-lit fireworks.

Irby worked busily Friday afternoon to prepare for the show. He checked off lists of equipment and examined various bright orange wires and tubes of explosives. He also inspected the board, a gray box smaller than a briefcase with 25 buttons, various switches and a cord that connects to a battery that powers the electrically lit fireworks.

Irby said it's amazing what electrically lit fireworks can do with their crackling sound and dazzling shapes that include falling rain and peacock tails.

An electric show takes almost three times as long to set up as a hand-lit show and costs about twice as much, Irby said. Friday's 26-minute show cost $25,000, he said.

"Almost a thousand dollars a minute," Irby mused.

Roanoke's Assistant Fire Marshall Ronnie Campbell said he's happy about the trend because of the potential dangers of lighting fireworks by hand. He also said that electrically lit fireworks are preferable because they are much easier to sequence.

The theme of The Roanoke Times Music for Americans was "America's Eagles," featuring the music of the band The Eagles; conductor David Wiley led the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. The show's producer Jan Wilkins said the choice was natural because The Eagles is the most popular band in the U.S. based on record sales.

Besides the musical theme and electrically lit fireworks, most things remained the same at the free celebration. A pre-show Family Fun Zone was expanded slightly from last year and featured an inflatable slide, sack races and a balloon bounce.

Irby's main job is packaging chips for Frito-Lay, but he has worked professionally putting on fireworks shows for the past 12 years.

He says he has always loved fireworks and started by doing shows at the beach and in his family's back yard when he was 17 years old.

In many ways, fireworks have become a way a life for him and his wife, he said. This time of the year is especially busy. For the past week, he has put on shows throughout the area, including in Greensboro, N.C., Lynchburg and Rocky Mount.

Irby worked Friday alongside his wife, Ambler Irby, and his friends Glenn and Kristy Thomas of Danville. Glenn Thomas said he was roped into helping about eight years ago, and the couples have been putting on shows together for years.

This past year, James Irby has been working large power digital fireworks shows that are a step up from electrical shows. He helped put on the New Year's Eve Show at the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, the opening ceremony game of the Nationals Baseball Stadium in Washington, D.C., in March, and the Cherry Blossom Show in the capital in April.

"You push one button and the computer starts sending the signals," Irby said. "Most of the time it's done to music."

Irby says he does the shows because of his love for fireworks.

"It's way too much work to do it and not love it," Irby said.