Jane Lynch will host the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on Fourth of July weekend, taking the microphone at the Hatch Shell on Saturday. The free concert ends with the Pops’ fireworks display, and portions will air on as part of the July Fourth broadcast.
She said she was “thrilled and very honored” to get the call and that she loves hosting because “It’s making everybody feel comfortable, and in this case, the people out in the audience at the live event and then, of course, the audience.” The lineup also includes Megan Hilty, Lainey Wilson, Chance The Rapper and Trombone Shorty.
Jane Lynch and the Boston Pops
Lynch is not new to this stage. She performed with Keith Lockhart and the Pops at Symphony Hall in 2019, and she said she first fell in love with theater after seeing a school play as a young kid. Her return places her in a role that has to work for two audiences at once: the crowd on the Esplanade and the larger TV audience watching the July Fourth broadcast.
That split audience shapes the event’s tone. Lynch said, “It’s making everybody feel comfortable, and in this case, the people out in the audience at the live event and then, of course, the audience.” The show will also be broadcast locally on WHDH-TV Channel 7 and stream on All Access, so the night is built for people who are there in person and people watching from home. Catherine Summers sets Freedom 5 Run
America’s 250th anniversary celebration
Lynch also tied the event to a larger moment, saying, “I mean, the Pops, 250 years, Boston. How American do you get in terms of the founding of this great land?” She added, “We’re a democracy for the people, by the people,” and, “It’s about the people, and we’re going to show up and celebrate that.” The programming sits alongside America’s 250th anniversary celebration and World Cup fever, which gives this July Fourth weekend a broader civic frame than a standard fireworks show.
What the announcement does not answer is the exact program order for Lynch and the Boston Pops at the Hatch Shell. For readers planning to watch, the practical details are already set: the free concert is on Saturday, the broadcast reaches, and local coverage runs on WHDH-TV Channel 7.
