Regie Gibson

Carlos Simon

The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular is one of the most storied annual events in the city. Hundreds of thousands of people flock to the Hatch Shell and the Esplanade to hear the orchestra perform with celebrities and vocal powerhouses. This year, the performance highlights an original composition by two local Black artists: Boston Symphony Orchestra Composer Chair Carlos Simon and Massachusetts Poet Laureate Regie Gibson.

The two artists collaborated to create “Song of Massachusetts,” a poem Gibson wrote that Simon set to music. Gibson will read the poem while the orchestra plays the song. The narrative takes the audience back to the very beginnings of this land just after the erosion of the Pleistocene Ice Sheet and reflects on the Indigenous populations that were here long before European colonized the area.

“I knew I wanted to acknowledge the beautiful, horrid, complex past of our commonwealth while at the same time empowering us to fight and survive the darkness in which we presently find ourselves,” Gibson said.

Simon and Gibson are joining a robust lineup. Grammy-winning country music artist Lainey Wilson, three-time Grammy winner Chance the Rapper and Grammy-winning New Orleans (NOLA) icon Trombone Shorty will headline the Fireworks Spectacular for the first time.

Gibson is excited to perform on the stage he’s often watched on the Fourth of July and perhaps a bit intimidated by the talent he’ll share the stage with.

“I am honored, exhilarated, exhausted — and not a little nervous,” said Gibson. “The audience attending the July Fourth event will be the largest audience I have ever performed for — and it is for the state I have come to love and call home. I want to make Massachusetts proud.”

In addition to the visiting artists, there are some special treats in store for the MA250 anniversary, including a revolutionary-themed drone show during the annual performances of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” and a screening of “We Declare,” a video created by eighth graders at Boston Green Academy in Brighton reflecting on the Declaration of Independence. As always, the performance will be followed by a fireworks display over the Charles River.

The concert is free to attend and will also be broadcast live on CNN and WHDH-Channel 7.

Though reflecting on historical and present challenges can be difficult, Gibson says the “Song of Massachusetts” is ultimately one of hope.

“Not a fluffy hope born of an abstract optimism, but one born out of recognizing our historical achievements and complexity,” he said. “A hope that makes us roll up our sleeves and get to work building a better commonwealth together.”

ON THE WEB

Learn more at bso.org/boston-pops-fireworks-spectacular