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CNN Live Event/Special
The Fourth in America Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 05, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
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VICTOR BLACKWELL, ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN's Fourth in America Special, continuing alive from the West Coast tonight. We're coming together to celebrate our country and the return of live music following the pandemic. I'm Victor Blackwell in Los Angeles along with Ana Cabrera in Las Vegas.
Ana, I don't even need to ask. I know that Las Vegas is ready.
ANA CABRERA, ANCHOR: Always ready to party, Victor. And they are in full partying mode here on the famous strip tonight. And we are counting down because we're anticipating what promises to be a fireworks extravaganza that will light up this city's famous skyline to a whole new level after we're hearing it's going to be the biggest firework show Vegas has ever seen on the Fourth of July.
BLACKWELL: I'm looking forward to it and to say this is the biggest means they've got a lot to prove here. And we're about to hear music from Sammy Hagar, Brad Paisley, the Beach Boys, a lot more. But first, here in LA, let's hear from Kool and the Gang at the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra as well. Let's go.
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[01:05:00]
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[01:10:00]
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BLACKWELL: Wow! Wow! Wow! I mean, to see all these people together after what we've all been through over the last year, just amazing live music is back. Texas is on deck and you know they're going to do a big. We've got music from Sammy Hagar, Brad Paisley, plus a firework show on the Las Vegas Strip. All still ahead, stay with us as our Fourth in America Special continues.
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[01:15:18]
CABRERA: We're back with more fireworks to come right here on the Las Vegas Strip. Seven of the hotels around us will launch a coordinated show from the rooftops. It should be spectacular. But first, sit back enjoy the fireworks in Addison, Texas. That's just north of Dallas. They're planning to fire up more than 4,000 shells. They say it takes more than six semis to carry all the fireworks. So enjoy the light show as we listen to Sammy Hagar and the Circle starting with "I Can't Drive 55."
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[01:20:00]
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CABRERA: At 73, there he is, the legendary Sammy Hagar with his new- ish band, the Circle. And we have much more still to come from Chicago to Brad Paisley and Bebe Rexha. That's all straight ahead. Plus, the grand finale to the party in Las Vegas fireworks minutes away here. Our Fourth in America Special continues, next.
[01:25:00]
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BLACKWELL: Welcome back to CNN's Fourth in America Special. A live look at the Las Vegas Strip, all right. That was close here in LA. I'll go in the house now, turn on CNN and watch it on TV. Live pictures of the Strip where we are waiting for the show there, on the Strip, synchronized across seven casinos, the biggest firework show they have ever had on the Fourth of July, 30 minutes away. We will of course bring that to you as soon as it starts.
But first, Chicago's Robert Lamm says that he wrote this spec song just a few miles from where I'm sitting right now. A room above the famous "Whisky a Go Go" on the Sunset Strip. Now everybody loves the guitar solos on this song, but the horns I think are really amazing on this track. This is Chicago's 25 "25 or 6 to 4."
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[01:39:15]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: You can count on Chicago for a good power ballad, "You're The Inspiration". We are counting down to the Las Vegas firework show. Huge party we know it is happening there, it is going to continue. We are just about 20 minutes from this fantastic show along the strip. We're going to bring that to you of course. Plus more music, Brad Paisley, Bebe Rexha and Flo Rida, all coming up.
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[01:43:26] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. The Fourth In America continues here on CNN. Live pictures from the Las Vegas Strip where fireworks are just moments away. They are bringing their biggest show on the Fourth ever and there will be simultaneous firework shows coming from a bunch of the hotels here on the Strip, seven different hotels. We'll bring that to you live as soon as it happens.
But first, I want to take you to Tennessee, to Nashville, a little country music for those fans out there like I am. Brad Paisley joins us with an appropriate song for tonight.
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BRAD PAISLEY, AMERICAN SINGER: DJ Robert Luke, Priscilla Block, Regi Wooten, Lilly Hiatt, Joe Bonamassa, Kelsea Ballerini and I miss you (ph) hearing you guys. God bless you Nashville, Tennessee. Thanks for coming here. Thank you, Kelsea, for gracing the stage for something new and of course (INAUDIBLE).
God bless you all. Be safe, OK?
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PAISLEY: Thank you, guys. Be safe. We love you so much. God bless you.
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[01:50:05]
CABRERA: That crowd in Nashville is something else tonight. Victor, I wanted to share a little fun fact I found as I was doing my research for our special and --
BLACKWELL: OK.
CABRERA: -- for my specific assignment here in Las Vegas. Apparently, booze and fireworks day, way back to the beginning and Fourth of July and Independence Day celebration is, in fact, George Washington in 1778 celebrated America's birthday, giving all of his soldiers double rations of rob (ph). And so --
BLACKWEL: Right.
CABRERA: -- appropriately I'm doing double rations of wine --
BLACKWELL: Hey!
CABREBRA: -- tonight.
BLACKWELL: Double feasting on the Strip. Excellent.
CABRERA: I got the red and the white, but I'm missing the blue for our --
BLACKWELL: Well --
CABRERA: -- Fourth of July colors. I hope you're bringing in.
BLACKWELL: Listen, I'm wearing the blue but I brought whiskey. You know, I feel like who's that guy, the most interesting man in the world. I don't always drink at work but when I do, it's hard liquor. Enjoy the wine.
CABRERA: So cheers to you my friend.
BLACKWELL: Cheers to you.
CABRERA: How about.
BLACKWELL: Good though, good though. Cheers to you. Cheers to America. We are just minutes away from the firework show in Las Vegas there. The clubs are full, the casinos are full. You can see the traffic there. People are on their way somewhere. The casinos are excited and the show is about to start right there. We'll bring it to you in just minutes.
The Fourth in America continues.
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[01:55:36]
CABRERA: Welcome back to CNN's Fourth in America special. It has been a special, special Fourth of July. We have an evening of amazing fireworks continuing here in Las Vegas just minutes from now. But first let's listen in to Bebe Rexha. She's performing "Hey Mama".
BEBE REXHA, AMERICAN SINGER: You guys have fun? I did this song with Nicki Minaj and David Guetta. Let's go. Come on.
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REXHA: We have some noise from Harry on the drum.
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CABRERA: What energy, what energy tonight. You can tell the people are just soaking it up. They are loving it, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
CABRERA: We got fireworks coming up any minute here in Las Vegas and I am so excited to see what is supposed to be spectacular and people are coming out for it. If you could just see the Vegas Strip right now, from where I am perched here at the Cosmopolitan, you look down and the Strip is literally jam-packed with people who have come out into the street to see as they fire off fireworks from seven different hotels here on the Strip from the ARIA, from Caesars Palace, from Planet Hollywood, the strat -- the new brand new world, Resorts World, also Treasure Island, the Venetian, those are where we will see fireworks just jumping into the night sky here any moment from now.
And you can see in these live images from overhead all the cars that have also come out and are just packing the streets. So it should be amazing.
BLACKWELL: Oh, I believe it. I believe that we've seen some great firework shows tonight. But you know what I love about this night? The return of live music. I mean, there in Philadelphia, you saw the crowds for Bebe Rexha, huge crowd in Nashville for Brad Paisley, the Kool & The Gang there at the Hollywood Bowl.
Artists, I'm sure a lot of these, have tried to give us the virtual concerts and the zoom performances and we appreciated those over the last 15, 16 months. But there is nothing like standing there, shoulder to shoulder with people singing the exact same lyrics of your favorite artists, whether you're at a nightclub or at a stadium, and then they turn that mic to you and say, you sing and you belt it out until you lose your voice. There is nothing like it and I am so excited that America is getting back to live performances.
I can't wait to get back in front -- get back in front of a stage to see some artists. I'm looking forward to it.
CABRERA: Isn't that the truth, and again, the fireworks is about to start here any minute now, expected at 11:00 local time. So that's one minute from now. You can hear the energy on the street.
