Fresh off his big win on NBC’s hit show ‘The Voice,’ Philly native Cam Anthony will kick off the 2021 Wawa Welcome America July 4th celebration. Anthony will perform with the Philly Pops to start the show, which will also feature pop artist Bebe Rexha and rapper Flo Rida as the headliners.
Last month, Anthony, a 19-year-old North Philadelphia native, was named the winner of season 20 of ‘The Voice.’
On 'The Voice,' Anthony stunned the crowd with his powerful rendition of “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," initially sung by Motown artist G.C. Cameron before it was remade in the 90’s by legendary Philly R&B group Boyz II Men.
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“That song in particular was actually very special to me because my family had kind of made it a tradition to kind of perform that at our lost one’s funerals,” Anthony told NBC10.
The tradition was started by his late grandfather. "This was just me trying to pay homage to him," he said.
The 2021 concert will take place on Sunday, July 4, at The Mann Center for Performing Arts in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The entire event will be televised on NBC10 and streamed on the NBC10 apps and website.
The move to The Mann from the concert's typical home in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway allows for proper social distancing as our community continues to fight COVID-19.
Though the 2021 concert will be ticketed, it will still be free to the public. Those wishing to attend the concert can win tickets through a drawing developed by Wawa Welcome America. (Enter the drawing here.) Tickets will be available on June 19.
The nighttime concert will be followed by a huge fireworks display over the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Center City Philadelphia. Organizers say people will be allowed to gather on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to watch the fireworks display starting at 8 p.m. on July 4th.
The July 4th concert is the culmination of a 16-day citywide event highlighting the unique history and culture of Philadelphia. Many free events will be back this year like movie screenings, Wawa Hoagie Day, and much more.
The more than two weeks of events began on June 19 with Juneteenth events.