The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige will headline the 2017 Wawa Welcome America July 4th Concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. With this year's theme, "Everyone is a History Maker," it only seems fitting that Blige is at the top of the bill.
Blige has made music history with a record eight multi-platinum albums, nine Grammy Awards (plus a staggering 32 nominations), a 2012 Golden Globe nomination, and five American Music Awards. Blige is a global superstar who sells out arenas around the world. She has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. Among female R&B singers, only Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston have sold more albums.
Marking Wawa Welcome America's 25th Anniversary, the concert will honor the best-selling R&B group of all time - Boyz II Men - with 64 million albums sold.
The trio has earned four Grammy Awards, nine American Music Awards, nine Soul Train Awards, three Billboard Awards, a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2011 a MOBO Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music throughout their 25-year career. In 2013, the iconic group began a residency in Las Vegas at The Mirage Resort and Casino in which they received a Casino Entertainment Award. Boyz II Men will also appear at the “Celebration of Freedom Ceremony” at 10 a.m. on July 4th at Independence Hall where the City of Philadelphia will officially recognize their historic achievements in music and philanthropy.
This year's free July 4th concert will start at 7pm and culminate with fireworks at 9:30pm. More info on the complete 6-day (June 29th-July 4th) festival can he found here.