NEW YORK (AP) – Queen Latifah started with “The Star-Spangled Banner” and ended with a rap classic, Amy Schumer told raunchy jokes despite some children in the crowd and country singer Sara Evans was a vocal powerhouse when she covered Sam Smith.
The performers headlined the inaugural Fourth of July Freedom Festival at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, which organizers plan to hold annually.
Latifah closed the event benefiting the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which began Saturday night and went into Sunday morning. She was versatile, going from jazz standards to Broadway tunes to rap – mirroring her adaptable career.
“Shout-out to all of our men and women in uniform. Shout-out to my father, Vietnam veteran. Thank you so much daddy,” she said.
She ended with her hip-hop anthem “U.N.I.T.Y.” and thanked the crowd for allowing her to move from music to Broadway to TV and film.