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CNN Live Event/Special
CNN Live Special Event: The Fourth In America. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired July 04, 2022 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[22:00:00]
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Boston has one of the oldest July 4th fireworks shows in the country dating back to 1777. That's going to launch soon. Right now, though, let's go to Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, for the fireworks show and a performance by singer/songwriter Jason Derulo.
(JASON DERULO PERFORMING "IN MY HEAD")
JASON DERULO, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Hey, Philly! See these women say --
(JASON DERULO PERFORMING "IN MY HEAD")
DERULO: You got to learn to love yourself before you can learn to love anybody else.
UNKNOWN: If you love yourself put your hands up in the air right now.
DERULO: If you love yourself tonight, put one finger in the sky. Self-love, self-worth. I love you, baby.
[22:05:00]
(JASON DERULO PERFORMING "RIDIN SOLO")
(CROWD CHEERING)
(JASON DERULO PERFORMING "RIDIN SOLO")
(CROWD CHEERING)
(JASON DERULO PERFORMING "WANT TO WANT ME")
[22:10:02]
DERULO: Happy Fourth of July! Happy Fourth of July!
BASH: Now, that is a performance. Fantastic performance from Jason Derulo. Do you know he wrote his first song when he was eight years old? It's true.
Also, check out Machine Gun Kelly. He is wowing his fans with a dramatic, one-of-a-kind entrance by helicopter. His music is next and a look at one of the biggest Fourth of July parties in Nashville. Fireworks from Music City are coming up along with Old Dominion performing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: There is so much still ahead here tonight for you. We are -- look at the crowds in Nashville, right? They're gathering on Broadway there for an incredible performance, incredible fireworks show.
[22:15:06]
Another incredible fireworks show tonight, this one in Jacksonville, Florida. Let's watch now along with a performance by Machine Gun Kelly at Milwaukee's Summerfest.
MACHINE GUN KELLY, RAPPER: You ready?
(MACHINE GUN KELLY PERFORMING "MY EX'S BEST FRIEND")
[22:20:00]
(MACHINE GUN KELLY PERFORMING "MAYBE")
(CROWD CHEERING)
KELLY: Milwaukee, I want to hear you sing as loud as you can.
(MACHINE GUN KELLY PERFORMING "I THINK I'm OKAY")
(CROWD CHEERING)
KELLY: Blood Valentine.
[22:25:00]
(MACHINE GUN KELLY PERFORMING "BLOODY VALENTINE")
KELLY: It's 18,000 of us. I want to hear this one loud.
(MACHINE GUN KELLY PERFORMING "BLOODY VALENTINE")
BASH: Machine Gun Kelly, everyone.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: What a performance. Machine Gun Kelly! My gosh.
BASH: Unbelievable.
LEMON: Did you hear him?
BASH: Yes.
LEMON: Eighteen thousand people in that arena, Dana. I mean, and it was -- everybody is on their feet. He was fantastic. And you know what? My body looks like that under this suit. I'm that lean and trim. BASH: You have the same number of tattoos?
LEMON: Yes, pretty close.
BASH: No.
LEMON: I'll show you one day.
BASH: Yes, OK.
LEMON: No. No.
BASH: Well, you know what? Machine Gun Kelly, unlike you, Don Lemon, is out on tour. And unlike you, he has a new album out.
LEMON: Right.
BASH: His new album is called "Mainstream Sellout." And an original documentary that's now streaming called "Life in Pink," so check that out.
[22:30:05]
LEMON: Yes, great. I can't wait.
(CROSSTALK)
BASH: And we have a lot --
LEMON: I'll check it out. I would actually go to a concert to see him.
BASH: All right. Well, we'll go together. You know what? But in the meantime, we have a lot more music and fireworks on tap. Our next stop is Nashville and one of the nation's biggest holiday celebrations. Old Dominion is performing in the Music City. We're going to share that with you. And we're going to go live to Boston, home of one of the original fireworks shows in the United States of America.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BASH: A live view in Nashville, Tennessee. Look at that crowd. It looks like it's right on Broadway, right in the center of Nashville, about to have an amazing concert for the Fourth of July. You know who's there? My colleague, Ana Cabrera, is right there in the middle of everything.
ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, hey.
BASH: Is the energy -- hey, Ana. Is the energy as crackling as it seems like it is from here?
CABRERA: It is amazing. This is my first visit to Nashville, Dana, and it is quite the introduction to Music City. You can see it is electric here tonight, and you're right.
[22:35:00]
This is Broadway. All the honky-tonks behind me. Tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of people packed into this street tonight. We have been treated to a big free concert. Everybody is out celebrating. It's hot, as you'd imagine, but tonight they're expecting the biggest and longest fireworks show ever here.
Forty thousand pounds of fireworks about to go over the Cumberland River. And the music has just been awesome. I'm a country music lover, so I was especially excited for this assignment. Old Dominion has everybody fired up and feeling great tonight. Take a listen.
MATTHEW RAMSEY, LEAD VOCALS, OLD DOMINION BAND: Feels good, you all!
(OLD DOMINION BAND PERFORMING "NO HARD FEELINGS")
(CROWD CHEERING)
RAMSEY: Got this one with us.
[22:40:00]
(OLD DOMINION BAND PERFORMING "ONE MAN BAND")
(CROWD CHEERING)
BASH: Thank you so much for that performance, Old Dominion. They are also on tour this summer, so check them out. See if they're someplace close to your town. But before that, right now here on CNN, the party is continuing. We're going to see more fireworks in Boston and in Nashville ahead. We're also going to St. Louis for fireworks near the Gateway Arch. Plus, performances by country star Maren Morris and the legendary Doobie Brothers. Stay with us.
[22:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The fireworks keep coming on this Fourth of July, everyone. Let's see more of the glittering skies. This is over Nashville and Boston as well, accompanied by the music of Maren Morris.
[22:50:00]
(MAREN MORRIS PERFORMING "THE MIDDLE")
(MAREN MORRIS PERFORMING "CIRCLES AROUND THIS TOWN")
BASH: Maren Morris, everybody. Don Lemon -- Don Lemon, as we look at Boston, the amazing fireworks coming from Boston, I want to go back too Maren Morris. Did you know, Don, that she auditioned for American Idol." She auditioned for The Voice, and she was rejected from both of those? And there you see her tonight. She has been nominated for 14 Grammys since then.
LEMON: And you see that with so many of the people who have been rejected. Right? They go, I think that just encourages them to go on and be better and do better.
BASH: Right.
LEMON: It clearly that happened with Maren Morris. But I got to tell you, I could barely hear you in the beginning over the fireworks in Boston. I mean, it's they're amazing. What a treat this has all been tonight. I was sitting here, standing here watching, saying, what a treat for people who are at home tonight to be able to see all of this unfold nationwide on CNN. It's really a spectacular performance or performances and experience, Dana. It's just amazing. Really amazing.
BASH: It sure is. And all of these artists are giving their performances to us, but they're also -- some of them are in the middle of a tour. For example, Maren Morris is on a tour. She's just beginning, and she has a new album out called "Humble Quest." So, if you like that, you can probably catch a lot more of her music on Spotify or wherever you get your music.
LEMON: Look at that. So, we're looking at the St. Louis Arch there, an architectural wonder, miracle so to speak. And we're doing that because we're going to take you to the heartland. We're heading to the heartland next with fireworks now under way in St. Louis, Missouri. And we're going to celebrate to the beat of the Doobie Brothers, Third Eye Blind, T-Pain as well. Their performances all straight ahead.
[22:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So, we're right back now with our cross-country July 4th celebration. St. Louis is in the spotlight this hour, and we're treated to another dazzling fireworks show.
I'm Don Lemon in New York along with Dana Bash in Washington and my colleague, Ana Cabrera, joins us from Nashville. You know, this has been a challenging day for many Americans after the shooting in Illinois. But a day to honor the country nonetheless. Dana.
BASH: Don, that's so true. And we are continuing the celebration in the hours ahead. Crowds are in the stands at the historic Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, for one of the nation's longest running light shows in honor of America's birthday.
And in San Diego, as many as half a million people are expected to turn out for that city's impressive fireworks extravaganza called big bay boom. And up north in San Francisco, they're getting ready to launch their fireworks display. That will light up the Bay Area. Ana.
CABRERA: And people are still partying here in the streets in Nashville, where we are going to continue to play a sensational lineup of musical performances from other parts of the country as well.
[22:59:53]
This hour, Third Eye Blind, Gloria Estefan, T-Pain. So huge variety. Right now, we have a real treat. This one is a throwback from Bristow, Virginia, it's time to enjoy the Doobie Brothers.
