Rodney Atkins Joins Memorial Day Lineup

Rodney Atkins will perform at CMA Music Festival, June 5-8, 2008, in Downtown Nashville. Photo courtesy of Curb Records. Provided by Country Music Association.

May 22, 2008 — Rodney Atkins will spend part of this weekend in Washington, D.C., where he’ll join several other celebrities for PBS’ annual National Memorial Day Concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Actors Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna will co-host the concert, which is expected to draw a live audience of about 300,000 as the nation honors American soldiers who’ve lost their lives in combat. Producers asked Rodney to sing "If You’re Going Through Hell (Before The Devil Even Knows)" on the show, which has particularly strong meaning for the men and women currently serving in the Middle East.

"The song fits so many situations," Rodney observes. "The human condition’s a struggle sometimes, and we should celebrate — especially on Memorial Day — these families and these soldiers. Every night we sing this song, I send it out to the soldiers and the families of all the soldiers, forever and ever, past and future, for the sacrifice they’ve made. They did ask me to sing the song. It makes perfect sense at Memorial Day. These guys, there’s a huge sacrifice they’ve made, and they’ve made it out — [whether they’re] alive or they’ve gone home. It’s an honor to get to sing that song and for them to ask me to be a part of it."

Others appearing on the telecast include former country singer John Schneider, R&B vocalist Gladys Knight, classical-crossover figure Sarah Brightman, General Colin Powell, and actors Charles Durning, Gail O’Grady and Denis Leary, plus the National Symphony Orchestra. The concert airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.