OKLAHOMA CITY, (Top40 Charts/ Oklahoma Centennial Commission) - What do Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, the
Flaming Lips and Jimmy Webb have in common? All are Grammy-award winners; all are from Oklahoma and all will be performing in a spectacular concert on Friday, Nov. 16, to celebrate the 46th state's 100th birthday.
The Oklahoma Centennial Spectacular is an unprecedented gathering of Oklahoma's most famous sons and daughters from the big screen, concert halls, literature, movies, sports and television who are returning to participate in the concert of a lifetime. A project of the Oklahoma Centennial Commission in conjunction with Oklahoma Events, the concert will feature a dazzling display of the latest technology in lighting, multimedia and staging.
Joining McEntire, Underwood, Flaming Lips and Webb in the star-studded concert are Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Toby Keith, and Blake Shelton; rock favorites the All-American Rejects; music icon Patti Page; Broadway star Kelli O'Hara; New York Yankees All Star Bobby Murcer; former Cincinnati Reds "All Century" catcher Johnny Bench; Olympic gold medalists Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci; NCAA and NFL award-winning coach Barry Switzer; renowned opera soprano Leona Mitchell; and the state's five living Miss Americas - Jane Jayroe Gamble (1967), Susan Powell (1980), Shawntel Smith Wuerch (1996), Jennifer Berry Gooden (2006) and Lauren Nelson (2007).
"This concert is a fitting finale to what has been a magnificent statehood celebration," said Lee Allan Smith, President of Oklahoma Events and Chairman of Centennial Projects and Events. "We are pleased that so many Oklahoma celebrities have returned for this very special concert."
Special guests appearing are Grammy and Dove Awards gospel artist Amy Grant, star of the 1955 musical Oklahoma! Shirley Jones, and famed NBC Today Show broadcaster Willard Scott.
Entertainment will also include three-time national fiddle champion Byron Berline, the state's premier vocal group Canterbury Choral Society, national comedian columnist Argus Hamilton, Pulitzer Prize poet N. Scott Momaday, the state's largest performing arts group Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and nationally acclaimed Oklahoma City University American Spirit Dance Company.
The Oklahoma Centennial Spectacular will be a grand finale to the year-long celebration of the state's 100th year of statehood that included over 1,000 projects and events statewide and across the nation. The Oklahoma Centennial festivities stretched coast-to-coast from performing the opening show in Pasadena's Tournament of Roses Parade to appearing in New York's Thanksgiving Day Macy's Parade and exhibiting "The Oklahoma Experience," the first state ever featured at Disney's popular Epcot(R) International Food & Wine Festival in Orlando, Fla.
Oklahoma was officially declared a state on Nov. 16, 1907, by President Theodore Roosevelt. Today, it has 39 sovereign nations, representing the 39 federally-recognized Native American tribes that operate as independent governments. The name "Oklahoma" comes from Choctaw Indian words for Red (Okla) and People (Humma).
For information on the Oklahoma Centennial, visit https://www.oklahomacentennial.com.
