Independence Day 2014 Concert & Fireworks - City of Laurel

On Saturday, July 5th Oracle Band will be performing for the annual City Of Laurel Independence Day festivities at Granville - Gude Park at Laurel Lakes in Laurel Maryland.  The music will start around 5:00 and will go right up to the spectacular fireworks display scheduled to begin around 9:15.

This event is free and open to the general public.  Bring blankets or lawn chairs as there is next to no seating available in the park.

Still 1.5 hours away from the fireworks and the crowd continues to swell!

Last year's temperatures were certainly better than those of 2012, when the thermometer hit 105° right around concert time, but even then we had some hardy souls in attendance.  This year we are once again asking Mother Nature for some compassion after that rather overwhelming day two years ago...but hey...she can be rather fickle when she wants to be, so send up your positive vibes for a dry and relatively comfortable day!

Oh yeah...it DOES get a little toasty on stage!

The concert will be held at the beautiful concert pavilion on the grounds of Granville-Gude park at Laurel Lakes.  It's just off Route 1, near Laurel Mall.  It is very easy to get to.

Directions to Granville-Gude Park

There is something for everyone at the Laurel celebration. 


For starters there is of course the parade.  Laurel residents have turned out in the thousands for many years to watch the parade, which begins around 9:00 on Montgomery Ave and ends up at Cherry Lane near what used to be Laurel Mall.

Then there will be a car show starting at 12:00 noon in the field just above the concert pavilion.

At 2:30 the Hot Dog eating contest gets underway...registration is at 2:00 for that event...come one come all!

At 3:00 there will be field events and games for the kids to participate in, followed by the official opening of the ceremonies at the park with the flag raising and the National Anthem.  Prize winners for the parade and the car competition will be announced at this time as well.

There are face painters and moon bounces for the kids. Then of course, there is the FOOD!

You name it.  Burgers, chicken & dogs, funnel cakes and cotton candy, lemonade and smoothies, pulled pork & pit beef, egg rolls, sausages, the list goes on and on.  Want to save some $$$?  Bring your own picnic!

Coolers are permitted but alcohol is prohibited.  Oh, and of course, don't forget your blanket or lawn chairs.

The complete schedule can be found on the City of Laurel Independence Day Website.  You can also ask questions and find more information on their FaceBook Page.

The concert will begin around 5:15 in the afternoon, and we'll be playing right up to the start of the fireworks around 9:15.

You're welcome to come on down to the stage early and say hi, and let us know if there are any songs you'd especially like to hear that might be appropriate for the concert.  Whether it's 75 people or 75,000, we still take requests if we can!

We're expecting an estimated 75,000 - 100,000 people for this event, and when expecting an audience this large you can better believe we'll be PUMPED!

Don't forget to be ready to DANCE.  Oh yes...these folks dance...from the first note to the last.  We get some positively HUGE groups up for Electric Slide and Cupid Shuffle, and you look out into the audience and you'll see folks of all ages dancing literally EVERYWHERE!

Does it get any cuter than this?

We really want to see a lot of familiar faces down front as we kick off the show, so come on down early and get the good parking spots, and lets have a good time together!  Many of our fans like to "camp out" together and enjoy the show together.

Oracle Fans with a shady spot staked out!

You can also view our photos on the band's Facebook page.  We encourage everyone who is a Facebook member to become a fan of of the band and catch all our regular updates there.