Most people travel to the Grand Canyon for a little bit of sightseeing and to go on a hike and enjoy the outdoors. The adventurous among us might even decide to camp out for a night or two to soak in the views.
However, when Andrew Suggs posted up on the rim of the Grand Canyon last week with his electric guitar, he had something completely different in mind.
It was the 4th of July, and Suggs decided that the best way for him to pay tribute to the country he loves was by standing on the edge of a cliff and playing “The Star-Spangled Banner”.
It was a performance that instantly went viral on Facebook, mainly because of how awesome it was, but also because of the controversy it created.
For many people, Suggs’s performance represented all the great things about living in America.
There is just something incredibly patriotic about playing our country’s national anthem against the backdrop of one of our country’s most beautiful national parks that a whole lot of people can identify with. It was an act that touched thousands of hearts.
However, other people were less than impressed with Suggs’s act of patriotism.
They couldn’t believe that someone would play loud music in an area where other people might be trying to enjoy the tranquility of nature. They considered his actions quite inconsiderate.
However, one thing that everyone could agree on was the quality of Suggs’s guitar playing.
The sound of the reverb on the electric guitar echoing across the vast canyons is simply majestic. The only thing that could have made the performance cooler is if a bald eagle flew by and landed on his shoulder, or maybe a surprise pass over from the Blue Angels — the United States Navy’s flight demonstration squadron.
In addition to honoring the USA, the guitar player also paid tribute to his favorite American baseball team, the Atlanta Braves, by wearing a #16 McCann jersey.
Suggs was born and raised in the city.
After the performance went viral, the team even contacted him and asked if he wanted to perform at one of their baseball games in the future. Whether Suggs has yet to accept their offer or not is still unclear, although we would be willing to bet that the answer is yes. We’ll keep an eye out for him over the next couple weeks at the SunTrust Park stadium in downtown Atlanta where the Braves play all of their home games.
Although, in the meantime, we encourage everyone to get out there and visit their own national parks near them.
There’s no doubt that the US National Park system is one of our country’s greatest assets and it’s important that we have videos like these every once and a while to remind us of that fact. Whether playing electric guitar in them is patriotic or not is still undecided. However, if one thing is for sure, it’s that the incredible beauty that exists in America’s wild areas is definitely something to be celebrated.
Watch the full video of Suggs playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in the Grand Canyon below.
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