OCEAN CITY — The Fourth of July fireworks show in downtown Ocean City will have a traditional patriotic soundtrack after all on Wednesday after resort officials made the last-minute change from the planned modern theme.
After last year’s Fourth of July fireworks display in the downtown area, some on the Mayor and Council expressed a desire for a more traditional patriotic song soundtrack similar to the soundtrack used for the uptown fireworks show at Northside Park. However, it was learned during Monday’s council meeting that a different soundtrack was going to be used at the two different locations for the town’s fireworks shows, including the Boardwalk and Northside Park, in an attempt to appeal to the different demographics at the opposite ends of town.
As a result, the Northside Park fireworks display on Wednesday would have a soundtrack featuring the Star Spangled Banner, and other patriotic standards popular for decades and enjoyed by generations of older visitors and residents. In contrast, the planned downtown Boardwalk fireworks display would still have the national anthem, but the soundtrack would feature patriotic songs with a more modern theme.
Naturally, patriotic music is subjective and some of the older standards that appeal to one’s grandparents, classics such as Kate Smith’s “God Bless America” or George M. Cohan’s “It’s a Grand Old Flag,” for example, might not have the same meaning or nostalgic impression for younger visitors and residents. Nonetheless, during the comment period at the end of Monday’s meeting, Councilman Wayne Hartman broached the subject of the different soundtracks for the two Fourth of July fireworks shows.
After some debate, Hartman ultimately made a motion to have the soundtrack for Wednesday’s downtown fireworks show changed to feature traditional patriotic music if possible for this year, and to make sure future Fourth of July fireworks shows in the resort feature traditional patriotic music, a motion that was ultimately passed unanimously by the council. By Tuesday morning, the directive had already reached Special Events Director Frank Miller.
“Regarding the fireworks on the Fourth of July, I know last year after the fireworks display we talked about the lack of patriotic music downtown,” said Hartman near the close on Monday’s meeting. “I thought we discussed that and I thought it was fixed.”
Hartman said he learned of the different soundtracks after receiving messages from residents and visitors.
“Just this week, somebody called me and said he was told there would only be one patriotic song at the beginning of the downtown fireworks display and one at the end, and if they wanted to hear patriotic music they would have to go up north,” he said. “They said they were told the music downtown caters to a different crowd.”
Hartman suggested the planned modern soundtrack for the downtown fireworks show was perhaps not in keeping with the reason for celebrating the Fourth of July holiday.
“I just want to share my sentiment on that,” he said. “It’s kind of like Christmas and the reason for the season. To learn we are eliminating patriotic music because of the crowd, I think we’re making a mistake there.”
Hartman appealed to his colleagues on the council to seek a change to the fireworks soundtrack for the downtown display if possible, even though it was about 48 hours out. If not possible for this year, Hartman wanted a return to the traditional patriotic music in the future and made a motion seeking those changes.
“I look to all of my fellow councilmembers here and I ask them if they would support having patriotic music during the fireworks on the Fourth of July both downtown and uptown,” he said. “If you watch fireworks shows on the Fourth from New York and so forth, they all have patriotic music.”
Hartman suggested a departure from the traditional patriotic songs on the Fourth somewhat downplayed the significance of the holiday.
“That is the reason for the holiday,” he said. “There are a lot of people who sacrificed quite a bit for our independence including their lives and the quality of their lives. For us not to recognize that on this day because of the crowd I think is a mistake.”
Mayor Rick Meehan agreed the elected officials last year expressed a desire for a return to traditional patriotic music for the Fourth of July fireworks shows in both locations.
“I spoke about this last year after the fireworks and I thought that was the message,” he said. “I checked on that and found out we do have different music themes for downtown and uptown. Honestly, I think that’s contrary to what the Mayor and Council talked about after the fireworks last year. I think it will take a motion by the council and that way it will get done.”
Meehan said it was uncertain why the changes weren’t made after a clear desire from the Mayor and Council last year.
“I don’t realize why it hasn’t been done to be honest with you,” he said. “I believe we were all in agreement last year. They have the tracks they are using at Northside Park and I don’t know why they couldn’t use the same tracks even this year down at the Boardwalk.”
City Manager Doug Miller said the music for the downtown show was synchronized to the fireworks themselves at the 11th hour could be challenging.
“My understanding is that the fireworks are choreographed and that the track has already been set up for this year and it probably can’t be changed,” he said.
However, Meehan said even with just two days remaining before the holiday, there was no good reason why the same soundtrack from Northside Park couldn’t be used downtown.
“They are the same exact fireworks in both locations, so I don’t understand why the same track can’t be used,” he said.
Councilman Matt James agreed there was probably still time to affect the changes in the downtown soundtrack.
“We have exactly 48 hours,” he said. “I would hope the same music up north could be used downtown.”
On Monday evening, the council unanimously passed Hartman’s motion to go with the more traditional patriotic music for the downtown show if possible for this year, and to make sure the traditional patriotic songs are used on the Fourth in out years.
By Tuesday morning, Special Events Director Frank Miller said he got the message and had made the requested changes, although it will result in a decidedly different experience for the downtown show.
“I got a directive from the city manager to change the music for the downtown fireworks display on the Fourth of July,” he said. “We’re going to have the same music that we have with the fireworks at Northside Park. It will no longer be synchronized to the fireworks themselves. That’s not going to happen because there is no time to change it.”
Frank Miller said the music for the downtown show was carefully planned and synchronized to match the crescendos and other highlights of the fireworks themselves and featured a more modern theme other than the old standards. He said the planned soundtrack was no less patriotic then the traditional standards.
“Our goal for downtown is to time the music so it’s synchronized with the nuances of the fireworks,” he said. “It wasn’t going to be unpatriotic, it was just a more modern theme than the traditional music at Northside Park and didn’t include patriotic music that was popular in the 80s and 90s. The downtown music was going to be more modern, but it was no less patriotic. It was still going to recognize all of the men and women who sacrificed for our independence but in a more modern way. Patriotic music is subjective and it depends on who you talk to.”
Frank Miller said the more modern theme for the downtown music during the Fourth fireworks show was carefully planned to appeal to a younger demographic.
“The overall goal is to continue to find ways to drive young people into town, young people who will one day be coming back with families of their own to vacation in Ocean City,” he said. “The plan with the music for downtown was to appeal to that demographic and make it a memorable experience for them so that they come back year after year like the generation before them.”
