I am about to dive into a story, and I hope that's okay with you all. Some of you may have heard this personally, but after some encouragement this past week, I have been convinced to share it with you. Before I really begin, this isn't a bad or upsetting story, it is actually one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me so hopefully that makes this all the more enticing to read.
Okay, so you know those kinds of rules that your parents implement from the beginning of time? The one's that are about avoiding strangers or putting yourself in danger. Or I don't know, going into dark strange places alone. Well my story begins with the breaking of one of these cardinal rules.
Recommended for you
It was a dreary Tuesday night last in September of 2015, the previous day I had purchased a $12 ticket to see Jamie Lawson at the Studio at Webster Hall in Manhattan. For those of you that don't know, Jamie Lawson is a singer-songwriter who was the first signed act to Ed Sheeran's record label. Of course I enjoy Jamie's music, but thought that attending this show would be good for a comparison piece in the school newspaper since I had attended Sheeran's biggest U.S. show at Gillette Stadium just days before.
So all day that Tuesday I looked around for someone to go into the city with me, it proved to be really difficult but I was able to snag my brother as a travel partner. When we got off at Union Square he headed for the cinema because he didn't want to go to the show. This meant that I would have to walk the few blocks in the dark and rain to get to the venue, but going into the dark basement-like room was something I knew my parents would not approve of. Yet all those alarms that were going off were deafened by this strong sense of needing to be at this event.
It is still hard to describe exactly why I had this feeling, but if it was strong enough for me to skip my science lab, and head into this small dark space, then I was going to follow it.
Jamie Lawson was actually the opening act, so seeing him perform wasn't delayed from when I entered the room. I had planked myself at the corner of the stage, close enough to see well for pictures, and still near the entrance I came in as well as a stage side door. Cautious as I could be, I still managed to get lost in the performances, and enjoyed Lawson's set very much, maybe a little too much.
Now this is where that indescribable feeling comes into play, because just as Lawson exits the stage for the stage side door I was next to. Suddenly with no more than a foot of distance between us, a trail of people head to the door, included in this trail is none other than Ed Sheeran.
To say I was in shock is an understatement, I stood there frozen, just watching as they crammed into the tiny room. I found a near by bench knowing they would have to come out the way that they went in. I had to see it again with my own eyes, just to prove I wasn't crazy. Sure enough they came back out and headed for the exit, and Sheeran was swarmed, I may be a fan, but I don't prefer to harass someone for a photo so I let the opportunity pass. I was just happy to say that I was in the same room.
It was pandemonium after that, all people kept asking was, "where did Ed go?" Well I knew after the commotion that it was unlikely that he would return, so I settled for hugging a wall while I waited for my brother who was in the middle of a film at the cinema.
While I waited I noticed Sheeran's manager was in the room, yes I know what his manager looks like because I am a fan... So I approached him at the bar, but it took me about twenty minutes to work up the courage to introduce myself as a student writer.
I told him that I was an entertainment writer of a top collegiate newspaper, and if there was a chance that I could get a comment from Ed or Jamie for the article I was going to write. He told me that it wasn't possible that evening, but he did say that I could contact someone at Atlantic Records for future press opportunities.
If you said my feet were on the ground I would have called you crazy, I felt like I was flying. If I did not brake the rules, if I had stayed at school or avoided the dark space I would have never had this opportunity or experience. I even received a response from Atlantic Records asking me to contact them for future opportunities.
It was one of the first experiences that I had where I was taking control and looking for more than just a simple story researched from information on the internet. It was an experience where the story was first hand and I will be forever grateful.
