Pops, Neil Diamond, rock city's 4th of July celebration

BOSTON -- Ready, set, celebrate.

On Saturday evening, Bostonians filled the banks of the Charles River for a free Boston Pops concert featuring Neil Diamond.

“The big new thing is Neil Diamond making the Boston Pops debut, which will be very exciting for us and I hope for everybody listening,” said Keith Lockhart, the Boston Pops conductor.

Diamond told 7NEWS he is thrilled to be in the Boston area.  

The fireworks show, which ran for 21 minutes long, kicked off at 10:30. The display included more than 25,000 pounds of pyrotechnics.

The nationally televised fireworks display was accompanied with an array of musical highlights composed by the likes of Ray Charles, Kenny Chesney, Alicia Keys, and Rodney Atkins.

Saturday morning saw the Navy's oldest commissioned warship, the USS Constitution, perform its annual turnaround in Boston Harbor. "Old Ironsides," which was launched in 1797, fired a 21-gun salute and 19-gun salute along the way.

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