Rachel Platten is one of the many performers at this year’s A Capitol Fourth, a music and fireworks extravaganza on PBS. This will be the biggest concert the “Fight Song” artist has done since COVID-19 shut everything down and she’s pretty stoked about it.
“I am so excited to feel all the energy on the stage and from the audience and that rush of joy that is really irreplaceable, that I missed so, so dearly during the pandemic,” Rachel tells ABC Audio.
In addition to singing her hit “I’ll Stand By You,” Rachel will offer a special tribute to the nation’s military heroes and their families on the show, which airs Monday at 8 p.m. ET. She realizes people may not be feeling very patriotic these days, given recent events — but she thinks A Capitol Fourth can help bring people together.
“I feel like music is one of the most unifying things in the world. And with so much division right now and so much, I think, shared post-traumatic stress that we’ve all been feeling — and continuing trauma — we need something healing and uniting right now,” Rachel says. “So I’m really excited to get to share that force field of love that only music and art can provide.”
And, having gone through her own personal struggle with postpartum depression, Rachel says she’s ready to show people there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
“I’m trying to kind of look above the circumstances that are going on right now and remember that we are all sharing this human experience of hurting, longing, desire for love, desire to be free and desire to feel OK,” she notes.
She adds, “Music can be the thing that is incredibly healing … so, I’m excited to use the opportunity to spread joy and love and unification.”
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