.....This is significant to the story because it completely changed where we would have to sit. With record store tickets we would have been able to sit in seats up close and near the stage.....
Well, it was very early in my life. The hottest music group in the land was coming through the DMV and my mother got tickets for her and I. I was 4 going on 5 years old and had never been to a concert before or seen anyone perform live either.
I know, I know, you want to know who? What music group?
It was New Edition & Bobby Brown for the "Heartbreak Tour" Live at the Capital Centre in Landover, MD, USA on November 6th, 1988.
The Capital Centre Entertainment Venue was huge for me, and my mother had me sooo excited about New Edition, which she had playing in rotation constantly in the house. So, I was definitely familiar with them.
“My mother dressed me in a OshKosh B'Gosh yellow jumper. She says she wanted me to be dressed similar to one of the main styles New Edition would wear back then. Sure enough, they did wear these emerald greenish/iridescent jumpsuits that were similar in style to mine.”
My mother's friend Sharon had a father who owned a record store called: Hardy Records on Good Hope Rd, in S.E. Washington, DC. He would get a certain number of tickets for all the concerts. My mother definitely asked him for a couple but he didn't have anymore left for this tour. So, my mother bought us tickets instead. This is significant to the story because it completely changed where we would have to sit. With record store tickets we would have been able to sit in seats up close and near the stage. Instead, the one's my mother could purchase were obstructed view seats that happened to sit us right above the entry and exit stage door for New Edition.
My mother dressed me in a OshKosh B'Gosh yellow jumper. She says she wanted me to be dressed similar to one of the main styles New Edition would wear back then. Sure enough, they did wear these emerald greenish/blue-ish/iridescent colored jumpsuits that were similar in style to mine.
What Happened Next Shaped Me
During the concert, we could only watch the screen and see a little bit of the left side of the stage from behind, where we could see them a little bit. Every time New Edition would run off the stage, my mother and I would stand up and look over to see them and wave at them and they waved back.
At some point, an event staff member saw me and thought I was so cute and adorable. She saw how excited I was and came over to us and relayed this to my mother. Within the conversation, the lady asked my mother if she wouldn't mind allowing her to bring me to the stage.
Of course my mother was excited about that but wanted to come with me. However, due to where we were, it was to high up for her to climb down. However, I was small enough to be handed to the event staff member over the railing. This lady caught me and assured my mother that she was going to sit me on the stage and keep a close eye on me. The lady wanted me to have a moment of a clear view.
There was this black box next to this large speaker on the edge of the left side of the stage. The lady sat me down right on top of the box. Me being little, I sat there for a moment. New Edition saw me but couldn't break their very strict show routine that was planned down to the second. However, where I sat, everyone in the audience could see me too. I wasn't scared initially. I was looking around at the audience, dancing a little bit while taking in how close I was to New Edition who I had only seen through the TV Screen and heard on Records. I stayed there for some songs until they began pumping the fog machine that was heavily used in their concert. Once the fog started coming towards me, the lady saw that I was getting a bit nervous and she asked me did I want to go back to my mother and I said yes. Mannnnn, I know that if my mother was able to come down with me, we would have sat on that box for the rest of the concert for sure....but I was a very little girl and I did what kids do, started wanting my mommy. Lol! Laaawwddd!
So, I was safely returned to my mother and we enjoyed the rest of the concert together and went home excited about being able to be in the same building as New Edition!!!
Back then, they were very strict about no one being able to video record or take photos at the concert. So, we were not able to get any footage. So, I am always looking for any footage that may surface for that DMV show. I have found the entire Philadelphia, PA tour stop which happened 4 days prior to the one I was at. I'll always hope to find some footage.
So, back to the story. The next day, my mother began getting calls from different people she knew who happened to be at the concert. They were telling her that they all saw this cute little girl up on the stage that looked a lot like me. Especially her friend Sharon who had great seats due to the record store having the hook up and our cousin Martina, who had won radio tickets and was located on the front row.
Many people saw me that night and reached out. Boy was my mother tickled by that. Every time someone called or she saw them in person, she couldn't wait to say: "THAT WAS MARQUITA SITTING UP THERE ON THE STAGE". Lol!!! Till this day, it is a highlight of all the amazing memories she carries of us.
I am very thankful my mother had the positive outlook to still decide to go to the concert even though we would have obstructed view seats. That experience poured something grand into me that I wouldn't even take notice of until I was 12years old.
When I look back and pull all of the pieces and parallels together, I didn't know how aligned I truly was then but I surely do now!
Key Parallels:
●I am now a Singer/Songwriter and Music Journalist.
●I love performing on stages of any size.
●I studied music and have had vigorous rehearsals that included singing and dancing combined while in: Duke Ellington School Of The Arts "Show Choir".
●New Edition is from Boston, MA, where I ended up attending the #1 Contemporary School Of Music at: "Berklee College Of Music".
●New Edition was specifically from Roxbury, MA and I lived blocks away from there in Jamaica Plain, MA (on the orange line train).
●I became a Music Journalist, which constantly puts me in the seats of many tours and concerts when they come into the DMV area. I cover those shows via the media outlet: "Concert Daily" being invited to review them via written articles, professional photography, videography and conducting on screen/virtual interviews with celebrity artists.
The only thing left that I would love to have the opportunity to do, would be to attend one of The 2023 New Edition: Legacy DMV Tour Stops and be able to meet/interview them during that time! Also, I want to be able to gift my mother with a good seat to the concert too so she can see them from a great view this time around! I'm definitely putting it all in the atmosphere!!! Okayyyyyy!!!
How amazing is it, that through all New Edition have been through over the years, they are all back together and can still put on a full production with all the swag that comes with it. I wish each of them the most magnificent experience and the most blessed occurrences as they bless all of us who have had them in our lives, and been inspired by their talents and consistency.
With much love to them and the experiences, let's keep their music playing everywhere.
Click The Link Below For Their Scheduled Tour Dates For Their 2023 NEW EDITION: LEGACY TOUR WITH KEITH SWEAT AND GUY!
From my musical heart to yours,
-Marquita Cheron
xoxo!
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