A country superstar, a Utah-born entertainment legend and a whole lot of fireworks are in store for Provo on July 2 — at the 2022 edition of Stadium of Fire.
Country singer Tim McGraw will headline the mega-concert on Saturday, July 2, at LaVell Edwards Stadium on the Brigham Young University campus in Provo, organizers for America’s Freedom Festival — the nonprofit that puts on the star-spangled event — announced Wednesday evening.
Tickets for the show will go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 25, at 1 p.m. on the event’s website, stadiumoffire.com. That website is also where people can sign up for the festival’s email list — which allows its members a chance to buy tickets that morning, before they go on sale to the public.
It’s McGraw’s second time headlining the big Fourth of July weekend show. He played Stadium of Fire in 2016, for “one of our all-time best shows,” said Jim Evans, executive director for America’s Freedom Festival, in a statement.
Over his 20-year musical career, McGraw has become known for his country hits, including “Live Like You Were Dying,” “Something Like That,” “It’s Your Love” and “Just to See You Smile.” He’s also starred in such movies as “Friday Night Lights” and “The Blind Side,” and currently stars — alongside his wife, singer Faith Hill — on the TV series “1883,” the prequel to “Yellowstone.”
Also on the bill, as a “special guest star,” is Utah’s own Marie Osmond. The “little bit country” part of a decades-long double act with her brother Donny, Marie Osmond also is a best-selling author, entrepreneur and sometime TV talk-show host.
Marie Osmond has been performing (pandemic permitting) with symphony orchestras since 2019, after she and Donny ended their 11-year residency at The Flamingo in Las Vegas. In December, she released “Unexpected,” an album of opera, Broadway and classic tunes inspired by those symphony shows.
Stadium of Fire has always been a family affair for the Osmonds. The event was started in 1980 by Marie’s older brothers, Merrill and Alan Osmond. The Osmonds were the headliners for the first four years, 1980 to 1983, and some member of the musical family performed in the show through 1990. Donny & Marie shared the bill in 1984 and 1986.
The theme of this year’s Stadium of Fire, according to organizers, is “More Fire!” Organizers are promising fiery stunts and effects to augment the annual fireworks spectacle — billed as the largest stadium fireworks show in the country.
The program will include a salute to patriotism and a flyover of F-35 fighter jets from Hill Air Force Base.
America’s Freedom Festival also organizes Provo’s annual July 4th Grand Parade, and the Freedom Days vendor market in downtown Provo.
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