U.S. Embassy Celebrates Independence Day and “Memphis Blues”
On June 29, 2022, the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan will celebrate the 247th anniversary of the independence of the United States of America with a theme of “Memphis Blues”. Americans celebrate Independence Day in honor of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
“I’m thrilled to host my first Independence Day event in Armenia, to celebrate the birth of the United States’ democracy, the strength of the U.S.-Armenia relationship, and our shared democratic values,” said U.S. Ambassador Kristina Kvien. “The theme of ‘Memphis Blues’ shines a spotlight on this uniquely American music tradition that has an important place in U.S. history.”
At the event, guests enjoyed American barbecue, live music performed by the Kansas Army National Guard Infantry Quintet and Ness Band from Hard Rock Café Yerevan, and fireworks. Memphis blues is a style of blues music that originated with African-American artists in the Mississippi Delta region of the United States, including the city of Memphis, Tennessee. Famous Memphis artists include W.C. Handy, Howlin’ Wolfe, B.B. King, and Elvis Presley.
Renowned Armenian soprano, Hasmik Baghdasaryan of Naghash Ensemble, performed the U.S. and Armenian national anthems in honor of the occasion. Baghdasaryan is an alumna of the U.S. State Department’s CenterStage exchange program, in which she—with the Naghash Ensemble— toured the United States and shared Armenia’s musical heritage with American audiences.
The Embassy thanks the sponsors of this year’s Independence Day event, which include: Alexandrea Winery, ArmAs, Armenia Marriott Hotel, Armenia Wine, Cafesjian Center for the Arts, CARD, Coca-Cola, Contour Global, Converse Bank, DHL, DoubleTree by Hilton, Eldorado, EPAM, FedEx, Fine Cars of Armenia, First Mortgage, Gulden Draak, The Gurus, Hard Rock Café, Holiday Inn Yerevan, Hovnanian International, Hylink, Intent.ai, Jeep, Krisp, Marianna Dairy, McCann Yerevan, National Instruments, Pepsi Cola, PwC, Retro Cars, Siemens, Synopsis, Technopark, Tufenkian Hotel, Umaks, UNICOMP, Viasphere, VMWare, Wine Republic, and Zeppelin.
