The 49th Annual Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Show Is Bursting With Incredible Performers

The first time Macy's decided to honor America on its birthday was actually a slightly selfish endeavor. According to Untapped New York, the department store turned 100 in July 1958, and its owners decided to celebrate the auspicious anniversary with fireworks-filled festivities.

More than 1 million people crowded around the banks of the Hudson River to ooh and aah over the explosive light show.

The grand fireworks display didn't return until America celebrated its bicentennial in 1976. Macy's partnered with The Walt Disney Company to put on a colorful explosion that lasted 30 minutes.

During the show, local radio stations played speeches from Abraham Lincoln, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Emma Goldman, and more, reported The New York Times. Speaking of performances, the 2025 Macy's 4th of July Fireworks show is gonna be a real banger.

Let's check out the performers.

We honestly cannot wait for the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks extravaganza because this kiki features Keke, as in Palmer. The multi-hyphenate entertainer will undoubtedly performing music from her "Just Keke" album which dropped June 20, 2025.

By the way, we are manifesting another turn on Broadway for Keke. She is needed there.

The youth will be blessed with a performance from the sweet, not psycho, Ava Max, whose iconic hairstyle will probably pop against the backdrop of the New York City skyline.

Over on the other end of the generational spectrum, the Gen Xers are in for a real treat courtesy of Trisha Yearwood and the ageless Lenny Kravitz. We can't wait to get blown out of the proverbial water by Trisha's vocals and Lenny's guitar.

Sadly, it's too hot for the "Fly Away" singer to don his viral comically large scarf.

If taking a walk down memory lane is your thing, might we interest you in the Jonas Brothers? Their new album, "Greetings from Your Hometown," is dropping August 8, and two days later, they're kicking off their North American tour at MetLife Stadium.

Also, if you want to feel old, 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of their first album, which means we should all be sleeping on better mattresses. Last but not least, we are going to church with Eric Church, whose outlaw country music style will be legal.

The whole shebang is hosted by Ariana DeBose, who played the role of The Bullet in the original Broadway production of Hamilton. While on The Tonight Show in 2022, Ariana discussed what it was like playing such an unorthodox part. "OK, I'm playing an inanimate object. Awesome," she recalled thinking. "As an actor, I was like, 'How do I make this work for myself?'"

She opted to think of The Bullet as a death omen and began to treat it as such. "Maybe she's like death itself," Ariana said.

In 2022, she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Steven Spielberg's screen adaptation of West Side Story, making her the first Afro-Latina and openly queer woman of color to receive an Oscar in an acting category.