Tag Archives: Memorial Day Concert

Mary McCormack on the PBS National Memorial Day Concert

The show must go on! The 31st National Memorial Day Concert will take place this year, but will look very different. Mary McCormack, who has appeared on the show four times now, explains what some of the notable changes are.

By: Heather Newgen

For the last three decades, PBS has beautifully honored American military heroes on their award-winning National Memorial Day Concert, and the tradition continues. While the event, which is attended by hundreds of thousands of people, is typically held on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building, this year it will be aired as a virtual concert. Longtime hosts Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna are returning, as well as Mary McCormack.

“This year they added a section honoring the people on the frontlines of the COVID crisis, so that’s pretty incredible. I think it’s going to be really moving. It’s always really moving, but I think this year it may be even more moving in a different way because it’s going on when all this is happening,” McCormack told The Voluntourist.

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The former West Wing star added, “My dad was a Marine, long before I was born, but you grow up with a sense of gratitude and reverence for what the militaries does and their families. This year I get to do a tribute to the Gold Star families, which is such an honor because they are also giving so much. We forget about how much they’re giving to all of us. It’s a real honor to be a part of it. In this climate in America, where everything is right now angry and dangerous and partisan and heated, this is a non-partisan, as it should be. I think because of that it’s really healing. It’s nice to feel something that we can all get behind together.”

RELATED: Exclusive: Trace Adkins on honoring veterans and performing at the National Memorial Day Concert

The 90-minute show will include performances by “Harriet” star Cynthia Erivo, Renée Fleming,  three-time Grammy nominee Trace Adkins, 12 -time Grammy Award winner CeCe Winans, Hamilton star Christopher Jackson and the National Symphony Orchestra.

In addition, A-listers like George Clooney, Jennifer Garner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julianne Moore, Mark Wahlberg and more will deliver pre-taped messages to the troops.

The National Memorial Day Concert will air on Sunday, May 24, at 8/7c on PBS.

Exclusive: Trace Adkins on honoring veterans and performing at the National Memorial Day Concert

Country star Trace Adkins will perform at the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS for his fifth time and reveals how this year will be different due to COVID-19, but equally as meaningful and celebratory in honoring veterans.

By Heather Newgen

Trace Adkins isn’t letting quarantine restrictions deter his support for the troops. The National Memorial Day Concert is one of PBS’ highest rated shows and will go on as scheduled, but with a few noticeable changes. The event draws hundreds of thousands of people to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building, but this year the tributes and performances will be filmed separately in accordance with social distancing guidelines–something Adkins didn’t mind.

“For me, it was less of a challenge than it has been in the past because there was no live audience and if I screwed up I got to do it over again. In the past I walked out on stage to 200,000 people, so it’s like being in a pressure cooker. This time it was way easier,” he laughed.

But that doesn’t mean the three-time Grammy nominee didn’t miss the fans.

“It was very strange. I got on top of a building with the Capitol Dome in the background and we had a skeleton camera crew. They played the tracks and I sang. It was surreal. I looked down and there was literally nobody there. This is my fifth time performing at the Memorial Day Concert. Every year that I’ve performed you walk out and there’s the orchestra and thousands of people in front of you. It’s awesome and just an awe-inspiring setting. This time it was different, but still I think we approached it with the same reverence and the same tone. Hopefully this show will remind people what this holiday is about. It’s about the most important holiday because if it wasn’t for this one, we wouldn’t be able to celebrate all the other ones. That’s the goal we had going into this and hopefully this will help remind people they should take a moment and pay tribute to the people who have sacrificed so much for us,” he exclusively told The Voluntourist.

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Adkins has always advocated for veterans and is happy to celebrate them every chance he gets.

“I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of this. I was really happy they were going forward with it and going to do the show. It’s always a privilege and the highlight of my year to be part of this show. This year, I think especially. It provides some perspective. We’re going through a strange time but there have been generations before us who have been asked to sacrifice way more than we’re being asked to sacrifice. The times have been tougher on a much bigger scale and I think we need to be reminded of that. This too shall pass.”

He added, “It’s always been a privilege to work with veteran organizations and it’s really been the most meaningful thing that I’ve done in my career. I don’t expect to stop doing it.”

A few weeks ago Trace Adkins dropped his new single “Better Off,” which has already garnered over two million streams. But, don’t expect to see him perform it on the National Memorial Day Concert.

“It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to go out there and do my new single. I did “Still A Soldier” and “Til the Sun Comes Up.” I think those songs hit the right notes and help people get the right frame of mind for this Memorial Day weekend.”

The National Memorial Day Concert will air on PBS Sunday, May 24 at 7 p.m. CT. The concert also will stream on Facebook, YouTube and pbs.org.