A Tasmanian singer has performed in the middle of Times Square as part of celebrations marking the United States’ 250th anniversary.
Leading seaman musician Maggie James, one of four full-time vocalists in the Royal Australian Navy Band, travelled to New York with a handpicked navy rock band for the US Navy’s International Naval Review 250.
The event marked 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“Not many musicians get to say that they performed in the middle of Times Square,” James said.
“It was just so exciting and the atmosphere was electric.”
The naval review was held in the Port of New York and New Jersey between July 3 and July 8.
At its peak, ships from more than 30 nations brought over 15,000 sailors and officers into Manhattan.
James said the band felt real pressure to do the country proud.
“Representational deployments like this are rare and highly sought-after, so we all felt that we needed to bring the best musical product possible to represent Australia in our performances,” she said.
The band came together from Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and the Shoalhaven, rehearsing on weekends and producing backing tracks in their own time.
While in New York they also played an open-air concert at the Seaport Museum alongside the combined bands of the US Navy and His Majesty’s Royal Marines.
They later performed at a packed Aussie pub before the Socceroos’ 2026 World Cup match against Egypt.
“Our didgeridoo players performed first and the patrons were overwhelmingly supportive and enthusiastic,” James said.
“Then, the band led the entire pub singing a rendition of Waltzing Matilda.”
James joined the navy band in 2018 as a reserve while studying a Bachelor of Music in classical voice at the University of Tasmania.
She has since served in Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmania.
She has performed at Anzac ceremonies in Gallipoli and Villers-Bretonneux and spent four months aboard the US Naval Ship Mercy in the Pacific.
“Although [those performances] mean the most to me of all, performing here as part of America’s 250 has been absolutely incredible,” she said.
