Here's who will be onstage for the 30th anniversary of the National Memorial Day Concert (exclusive)
UPDATED MAY 23, 2019: Mary McCormack will be replacing Gary Sinise as the co-host of this year’s National Memorial Day Concert. In addition, American Idol Season 17 finalist, Alyssa Raghu, has joined the list of performers and will sing the National Anthem.
Original story continues below:
It’s been 75 years since the D-Day Invasion turned the tide of World War II in favor of the Allied forces, so it’s only appropriate that the memory of that battle will take center stage at the 30th anniversary edition of PBS’s National Memorial Day Concert. Broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on May 26 at 8 p.m./ET (7 p.m./CT), the annual tribute to America’s armed forces is set to feature Oscar-nominated actor — and certified national treasure — Sam Elliott telling the story of how U.S., British and Canadian troops stormed Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The Big Lebowski scene-stealer was born two months after the invasion, so his account will be based on the memories of 98-year-old combat medic Ray Lambert, who worked to save his fellow soldiers while under fire himself.
Elliott is one of many entertainers who will be gracing the stage during the 90-minute anniversary telecast, emceed by regular hosts Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise. The Criminal Minds star will be joined by one of everyone’s fictional presidents David Palmer, aka Dennis Haysbert, to reflect on the Vietnam War five decades after 1969 — one of the deadliest years of that conflict. Haysbert and Mantegna will assume the voices of two Vietnam veterans who make a point of reuniting each year at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.
A more recent soldier’s story will be shared by Station 19’s Jaina Lee Ortiz, who is set to narrate the experiences of Gold Star Widow, Ursula Palmer, whose husband, Collin, sustained ultimately fatal injuries in Afghanistan. And Gen. Colin L. Powell will lend his own military expertise to the evening with a salute to those who have served or are still serving.
Lest you think that this is a purely spoken-word concert, executive producer Michael Colbert — who took over the event two years ago following the passing of his father, Jerry Colbert — has also assembled a roster of multi-generation and multi-genre musical acts, including soul sensation Patti LaBelle, rocker Gavin DeGraw, bluegrass legend Alison Krauss, gospel group Patrick Lundy and the Ministers of Music and country star Justin Moore. Broadway will be represented by Hamilton’s Christopher Jackson, while Glee-turned-West End belter Amber Riley is also scheduled to take a turn at the mic. And, as usual, pops conductor Jack Everly and the National Symphony Orchestra will underscore the evening thereby ensuring that the 30th edition of the National Memorial Day Concert will be a night to remember.
The National Memorial Day Concert airs May 26 at 8 p.m./ET (7 p.m./CT) on PBS.
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