“Going the Distance” Event Review: Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism Spectrum of Sou
- Jeffrey Snyder
- Aug 15, 2024
- 3 min read
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Earlier this month, on Saturday August 3rd, 2024, the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism held it’s 2nd annual Spectrum of Stars Music Festival this time held at the Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Once again, I had the pleasure of being not just an emcee, but also recording stories for Flutie’s Instagram page. Now to me, the big challenge here was how could we top something as big as the previous year’s concert at Fenway Park in Boston?
That was the question going through my mind as we proceeded through the rehearsal on Friday and the main event on Saturday afternoon and evening. Of course, the returning acts included Cierra June, rapper C-Quig, brother and sister act Jake and Sky Velasquez as well as Big Brother’s Brittani D’Angelo. “America’s Got Talent” star Kodi Lee also made his grand return to the delight of all in attendance and Rachel Barcellona, model and star of the independent film, “Mandy’s Voice,” performed “Stay” by Monika Linkyte.
But there were also some new faces that were able to join us this year, including singer Faith Evans (whom I remember from a couple episodes of Nickelodeon’s “All That” in the 1990s) and as well as Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch making a brief appearance.
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Next, going into this year’s concert, I personally knew that I needed to try and throw some oomph into my emceeing and this was especially true when I introduced C-Quig to the stage during my second round. The truth of the matter is that as a public speaker, you sometimes need to up your speaking game a little because otherwise the audience will view you as repetitive and that is something that I didn’t want to be viewed as.
Another big challenge for all of us was overcoming the heat and humidity that befell the concert. In fact, you’d be surprised that I ended up drinking 10 bottles of water and then having to sweat that same water out later. But working in the heat, much like working in the cold, takes a great deal of discipline and commitment in your craft. Having worked in the heat and cold for 14 years with Stop & Shop gave me a sense that sometimes we need to tough out some things in life.
Furthermore, during rehearsal on Friday, there was a 90-minute lightning delay and we had to take shelter in the locker rooms behind the grandstands. This teaches us that we sometimes have to make the best of a bad situation as demonstrated when one of the musicians performed The Beatles’ “Hey Jude,” on the guitar.
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But in the end, the 2nd annual Spectrum of Sound music festival was a success, despite the heat and the bedlam. However, there are some things that can be improved if the concert ends up being a yearly thing.
From one standpoint, while the Veterans Memorial Stadium seems like a surefire ideal venue for the concert, my only critique is that if you are going to hold an outdoor concert, it might be best to hold it in Late September or Early October. If people are going to sit at an outdoor concert, they want to attend at a reasonable temperature. Heck, I wouldn’t mind maybe having the concert be in the fall when the weather is crisp and mild.
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In fact, as the Spectrum of Sound Music Festival continues to evolve, I would like to see the concert eventually be presented at other venues at some point in the future. Some of these venues include:
Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA: The home of the NFL’s New England Patriots
TD Gardens in Boston, MA: The home of the NBA’s Boston Celtics and NHL’S Boston Bruins
The Amica Pavillion in Providence, RI: Home of the Providence Bruins, Providence Friars and Rhode Island College Basketball.
That is to say if these venues are willing to host the concert, but only time will tell.
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In conclusion, the all-important factor is that people had a good time and want to see more of these young stars!! Furthermore, I look forward to being an emcee for future concerts and am grateful to the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism for giving me opportunities like this!
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Catch you all later!!
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