Raise a Record Gala 2019
“Burn the White Flag” feat. JOSEPH
A rockSTAR review written by rockSTAR Kaelyn
See the full length recap of our 2019 Raise a Record Gala.
Hi MCP blog readers,
It’s rockSTAR Kaelyn here and I’m here to talk about our 2019 gala! It’s so hard to sum up a night like that into words, but I will do my best! The theme was “Burn the White Flag” to symbolize that us rockSTARS are determined to never stop fighting. It was such an honor to share the stage with so many wonderful people like our rockSTAR Faith Murray, Levi and Steph, Kim Holcomb and many others.
For Faith and I, the evening started with interviewing some of MCP’s sponsors and other attendees. I love participating in this portion of the evening. It’s always so cool to hear what MCP means to so many people and which part of the evening they are looking forward to most.
The whole night was filled with an undeniable amount of love.
Speaking for myself personally, MCP always lifts me up. Every concert does, but this gala empowered me so much. MCP continually gives me strength. When I’ve needed it, They have held me up as if to say, “You’re going to be okay. We’re right here and we will not leave you.” I always appreciate that, especially since my condition has worsened recently. When speaking on stage, I began to get emotional as I replayed the memories of the last couple of years over and over in my head. During that time, many there with us all shouted “We love you” as I fought to continue talking through the tears. Levi came out in the moment where I lost my composure and hugged me. That was a perfect way to wrap up my thoughts, with a hug full of love. My fabulous rockSTAR Co-Host, Faith spoke about what MCP has given her, too, and there was not a dry eye in the Neptune that night. The band Joseph blew the roof off the place with their brilliant song “White Flag” after Levi and Stephanie ran through the theatre with huge white flags and dropped them to the ground to symbolize that we will never give up. Us rockSTARS will never stop fighting. We also got to see our rockSTAR story, beautifully put together by Michael Gonzalez. I experienced so much joy when watching it!
The most difficult part of the evening was finding words strong enough to convey how much I love MCP.
For me personally, the past two years of my life have been the hardest I’ve ever experienced. I had a huge orthopedic surgery that involved both femurs and the pain I experienced, was like nothing I’ve ever felt, more intense than I knew possible. When I was in absolute agony and questioned my strength, everyone who is part of this amazing organization never left my side. They wrapped me in so much love and it’s impossible to thank everyone for giving me strength, love and understanding at a time when i needed it more than ever before. I think that’s part of what made the night so emotional for me, the fact that I had been in such pain and nothing brought me peace…except for music. I genuinely feel that Melodic saved me. It has kept me fighting. The entire night of the gala, I found myself searching for words to convey my gratitude. I kept asking myself, “How do I do that?” How do you thank someone for running an amazing organization that inspires you to get out of bed in the morning during the hardest and most pain-filled time of your life?
The night of the gala was something out of a dream and I already can’t wait until the next one. The love in the theatre that night was incredibly overwhelming.
Until next time.
All my love,
rockSTAR Kaelyn
