Springsteen, Eminem, Rihanna and more to perform at free Veterans Day concert in D.C.

Posted 2014-10-03 17:15 by Grunt Report

Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Rihanna and other pop superstars will touch down on the Mall on Nov. 11 to perform in honor of American veterans and their families.

Dubbed the Concert for Valor, the Veterans Day celebration is being hosted by Starbucks and HBO, which will open up its signal to cable subscribers nationwide during a live telecast. For those hoping to see it in three dimensions, the concert will be free and open to the public.

Organizers have also promised performances from Dave Grohl, Metallica, Carrie Underwood and Zac Brown Band, as well as appearances by Jamie Foxx, John Oliver, Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who is ­co-producing the event.

Scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on the grounds between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, the concert is expected to draw a quarter of a million attendees. Organizers will host dedicated seating for military families, with tickets being distributed through various veterans assistance organizations.

So what does coffee have to do with all this? In recent years, Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive Howard Schultz has made veterans’ support one of the company’s central causes. His forthcoming book, “For Love of Country,” documents the struggles veterans have faced on the battlefield and back home and was co-written by Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran. Former defense secretary Robert M. Gates joined the Starbucks board of directors in 2012, and last year the company pledged to hire 10,000 veterans and military spouses before 2019.

SOURCE: Washington Post
BY: Chris Richards