Map
Food/Drinks
- Plenty of delicious food and drink will be available for purchase, including Homestead Creamery Ice Cream, Funnel Cakes, Mini Donuts, Sno-Kones, Hot Dogs, Corn Dogs, Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, Kettle Corn and more.
Rules and Regulations
Allowed
- chairs
- coolers
- picnics
- blankets
Not Allowed
- alcoholic beverages
- fireworks/sparklers
- pets
- tents
- grills
- large umbrellas
Shuttle bus service
Bus service begins at 5 p.m. and runs continuously until all patrons have been returned to their original locations.Shuttle pick-up and drop-off locations are:
- Downtown parking garage at Williamson and Franklin Roads
- The lot at Virginia Western Community College on Colonial Avenue
For the handicapped
- All shuttles are handicapped accessible.
- Parking for handicapped patrons only is available on the street-level floor of the downtown parking garage at Williamson and Franklin roads. Guests needing assistance should park at this location, and then board a shuttle bus, which is handicapped accessible, and be transported to River's Edge. If they park in this downtown garage, they will be dropped off directly on the field.
- At the end of the fireworks display, handicapped guests will be given priority when boarding the shuttle buses to return to the Williamson Road garage. There will be an announcement during the event, and all guests will be asked to allow handicapped patrons to board the buses first.
What?
Music for Americans is Roanoke's largest July 4th celebration, complete with family activities, live patriotic music and a spectacular fireworks display.
In 1976, America celebrated its bicentennial with special events in every state and a multitude of towns and cities. Here in Roanoke we celebrated with a major concert and fireworks show, featuring the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. The celebration, held at Victory Stadium on July 4, was conceived as a one-time-only event. Attendance was near capacity in the 24,000-seat stadium. The Roanoke Times & World News sponsored the concert in collaboration with the City of Roanoke. The enthusiasm of those in attendance generated talk among the sponsors of making the show an annual celebration, each July 4.
And so it was to be. On July 4, 1978, the first of the yearly Music for Americans celebrations took place. The show has continued from that year until the present. Music for Americans 2009 marks the 32nd consecutive year of the much-anticipated gathering.
When Victory Stadium came down, there was a strong possibility that having the celebration would not be possible. Jan Wilkins, producer of Music for Americans, conceived the notion of trying to do the show on the other side of Roanoke River in the soccer fields known as River’s Edge Sports Complex.
The challenges were considerable. There was no electrical power, no toilets, no seating, no concession stands, no shelter and, no parking.
Working with the creative team in the Roanoke City Parks and Recreation Department, generators, port-a-jons, staging, lighting, sound, dressing rooms and other absolutely essential components were brought to the site. And it worked extremely well!
2009 marks the 5th year we’ve produced Music for Americans on the soccer fields at River’s Edge.
Where?
River’s Edge Sports Complex on Wiley Drive in Roanoke, Virginia. You'll need to take a shuttle bus to get to the complex (see left).
When?
Saturday, July 4, 2009
5 p.m.
Gates open with picnics, food vendors, and a pre-show Family Fun Zone. The Family Fun Zone, sponsored by Roanoke City Parks and Recreation, will feature inflatables, games and much more.
8 p.m.
The Big Lick Brass Band, a local group performing patriotic and Americana songs, and Abbey Road LIVE, playing the hit songs of The Beatles.
9:30 p.m.
Fireworks!
How much?
Admission is free!
About the music/fireworks
Music for Americans 2009 features a new direction in musical programming for the show. Using the theme "The Brass & The Beatles," the show celebrates the talent of The Big Lick Brass Band, vocalist Kris Sanchack, and, from Athens, Georgia, Abbey Road LIVE performing more than one hour of The Beatles 'studio' hits, with strings, clarinet, trumpet, flute and other back-up instruments to provide the style of sound made famous when The Beatles and George Martin came together. Abbey Road LIVE will also toss-in some of the Fab Four's non-studio, early hits.
Kris Sanchack
Kris Sanchack will perform the National Anthem and 'conduct' the audience during the Armed Forces Salute. Sanchack is the director of Choral Music and Piano Studies at Hollins University. He has degrees in music from Penn State University, the University of South Carolina, and finishing a doctorate in Music at Indiana University. Sanchack has performed around the world in Europe and the U.S., and studied voice with Metropolitan Opera Baritone Timothy Noble.The Big Lick Brass Band
The Big Lick Brass Band was organized in 2007. The ensemble is a high-energy alternative to guitar and heavily amplified electronic music. They are known to get folks off their seats and onto their feet! The band has grown steadily and is now referred to as "Southwest Virginia’s #1 Choice" for New Orleans styled brass music. Their horn section (Trumpet, Saxophone, Trombone) is one of the finest, most sought after in the region.
Abbey Road LIVE!
Since 2002, Abbey Road LIVE! has been interpreting the music of The Beatles in clubs, theatres and festivals. Initially a tribute to the monumental Abbey Road album, the band has expanded its scope to include more than 100 Beatles tunes from all eras of the Fab Four’s career. Abbey Road LIVE! is not a typical Beatles look-alike tribute act. Don’t expect mop-top haircuts and vintage Rickenbacker guitars. Rather, this group is about bringing to life some of the more mature and complex Beatles material in a raw and spirited fashion, while remaining true to the original recordings. The band is a product of the famous Athens, Georgia music scene, where they reside and teach music.
The fireworks
The display of fireworks at Music for Americans is one of the largest July 4 shows in Virginia. Produced by Pyrotecnico of New Castle, PA for Jan Wilkins Enterprises, 2009 is the 11th year Pyrotecnico has provided the spectacular, half-hour, ‘art in the air’ presentation.
Parking
- There is no on-site parking available.
- Shuttles are available (see above).
Sponsors
