Kyle McMahon covers the PBS National Memorial Day Concert 2017 for Kyle2U.
Once again PBS and Capitol Concerts have put together an amazing program for the 2017 edition of their annual National Memorial Day Concert. I attended rehearsals to record the latest episode of Kyle2U, live from the West Lawn of the Capitol in Washington DC. I spoke with nearly all of the presenters and performers including 4 time Grammy Award winning artist and National Medal of Arts awardee Renee Fleming, Moana’s Auli'i Cravalho, American Idol winner Scotty McCreery, the iconic Robert Patrick, multi-platinum artist John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting, Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan, international pop opera singer Russell Watson, The West Wing’s Mary McCormack, Ana Ortiz (Devious Maids; Ugly Betty) and John Ortiz (Kong: Skull Island).
Memorial Day History
Unfortunately, far too many people think about mattress sales and cookouts when it comes to Memorial Day, rather then the true reason it exists. Memorial Day originated in 1868 as Decoration Day which was designated by Union military as the day the nation would decorate the graves of Union soldiers who had died in the Civil War. A similar day was observed by Confederate soldiers until they merged in the 1900's to become what we know today as Memorial Day.
A Love Letter to Our Nation’s Servicemen and Women Who Gave The Ultimate Price
With guests including Academy Award nominee Laurence Fishburne, Joe Mantegna , Vanessa Williams and the previously mentioned artists, the two hour show is a patriotic love letter to America's true heroes - our fallen servicemen and women.
The National Memorial Day Concert honors the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy. In a time of such political discourse, this concert brings the American people together for something we all can rally behind. Through songs and touching pieces telling the stories of some of those that are effected by the loss of a military, the National Memorial Day Concert is able to do a rare thing today - unite us.
National Memorial Day Concert is an annual concert shown on PBS. The 2017 edition airs on Sunday May 28, 2017 at 8pm Eastern. Check your local listings for details.
Kyle McMahon is a Millennial who has appeared on a series of the Emmy winning Oprah’s Lifeclass specials on the fatherless. Check out the Kyle McMahon website to start the journey to transform your life. You can follow Kyle on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Instagram. Be sure to check out the new personal development series for Millennials, Kyle2U with Kyle McMahon on YouTube or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.