Week 10: The Concert

Hi all,

This week, I had the opportunity to see my dreams realized in the form of a benefit concert in Ellenville, NY. On Sunday, June 8th, my family and I trekked up (well, rented a car and drove up, anyway) to the town and caught brunch at a shop Mr. Goldman had recommended. Coincidentally, he and his family were already there. We walked on over to The Common Good and I helped him set up, putting up QR codes for people to scan and donate to Isabella’s treatment. I got a paper cut in the bathroom, somehow, but that couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Eventually, the performers rolled up, along with others who mostly hovered around the bar.

The performers perhaps couldn’t be any more different—the host/comedian, Alejandro Morales, was a gay man from a Hispanic immigrant family. Meanwhile, the second performer, the singer/songwriter Amanda Jerry, played a variety of songs on her acoustic guitar, ranging from Phoebe Bridgers to the Beatles. She also played some songs Isabella had sent her. Apparently, she is quite the Swiftie. Last but not least, the trio Chill Sounds played a variety of older songs (though perhaps that descriptor doesn’t apply to their cover of “Losing My Religion”). The main singer had a very deep speaking voice. My mom didn’t think he could be the lead vocalist, and yet he was, and he pulled it off super well. The drummer wasn’t able to fit his drumset on the whole stage, so he brought a smaller drum machine. At first, it was somewhat noticeable, but after a while it blended in quite well with the rest of the music.

After the event, I scrambled to survey people to see why they came. I asked general demographics questions, as well as questions regarding if they knew Isabella beforehand or how they found out about the concert in the first place. To my surprise, most people I surveyed had not heard of Isabella before learning about the concert, and yet showed up anyway. However, as I reflect on it, this may not be all that surprising after all. Most people who are able to come to a concert have not experienced the tragedy that the concert is centered around, yet are able to comprehend and empathize with the suffering of those who have. Cancer is no stranger, and one does not need to know Isabella to wish her well as a fellow human being.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to survey more than 10 or so people of the roughly 30 that I saw at any given moment. People sometimes trickled in and out, depending on where they had to go, and it wasn’t realistically possible to survey people mid-performance. I did also need to introduce myself, as the stranger child, which took some time, but most people took it well and answered helpfully. While it would have been nice to have surveyed every attendee, I was still comfortable with my survey data and empirical observations to draw other conclusions about the event. For example, while the gender split was roughly 50/50, the audience skewed older. The average age of Ellenville is around 40, but most participants said they were over 40, with at least 3 identifying as over 70. Yet, most concertgoers tend to be younger. Again, this may simply reflect the realities of Ellenville, but I thought it was interesting to note.

I cover the rest of my findings in my presentation, but the concert was certainly a fulfilling end to ten or so weeks of research on benefit concerts. I’ll see you next time.