Starting in late June and spanning the 4th of July timeframe, Armed Forces Entertainment is presenting the “Heat Wave” Summer tour series, which includes performances for more than 50,000 U.S. service members and their families stationed overseas.
As part of this year’s 4th of July celebrations, the Department of Defense organization is sending 12 celebrated artists and groups on tour to the five regions of the world it serves.
Artists performing for our troops around the globe include: Famed rockers Stone Temple Pilots, multi-talented R&B artist Tinashe, Australian hard rockers Sick Puppies, Marine Corps veteran-rockers American Hitmen, pop-punk emo rock band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, alt-rockers The Mowgli’s, high-energy cover group Pop Rocks, Las Vegas-based pop group Soultry City, country music performers Rodney Atkins, The Rachel Lipsky Band and Rhinestone Cowboy and comedy tour, Operation Laughter.
“This is one of those times of year when our deployed service members and their families might especially be missing home,” said Brian Burke, Marketing and Business Analyst for AFE. “So, around the Fourth, we really strive to brighten their time by bringing high-quality entertainment that will help them celebrate America’s independence, no matter where they are in the world.”
Service members and their families stationed at installations throughout Europe, the Mediterranean, Southwest Asia, the Western Hemisphere and the Pacific will enjoy a variety of acts from comedy shows to concerts in a range of musical genres.
While AFE provides yearlong-quality entertainment in the genres of music, comedy, sports and fitness and resiliency/motivational tours, the Independence Day holiday timeframe brings a more concentrated number of tours. This annual peak season of performances serves as the basis for AFE’s “Heat Wave” Summer tour series and includes more high-profile acts and a greater variety of music. The tour series also includes a 4th of July performance during  the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise, the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise.
“We are beyond grateful for all the sacrifices our U.S. military members and their families living abroad make,” said Burke. “We work extra hard to ensure the types of tours we send out during this timeframe are top-notch and that this quality entertainment is reaching our military all around the world.”
One of the most highly-anticipated shows from the “Heat Wave” series is Stone Temple Pilots’ 4th of July performance during RIMPAC, which is held at Joint Base Pearl Harbor – Hickam, Hawaii.
Several of the music artists in the lineup are currently touring commercially either on the heels of, or in anticipation of their newest album releases. During their performances for U.S. military audiences, the artists are expected to cover some of their most recognizable hits but will also be sharing new music from their recently released singles or albums.
For more information on AFE’s “Heat Wave” Summer tour series, please visit www.afetours.com