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Fun fact. Stevie performed random, last minute show at @CLE_State during Obama's reelection campaign in 2012. I was working for the student paper at the time and got a text late the night before that there was he'd be performing the next day. It was surreal... (1. thread) https://twitter.com/TheUndefeated/status/1260566717232631808
He was campaigning for Obama, and I assumed he'd draw massive numbers. But...it turns out it was so last second that his team apparently didn't get the word out in time. 2/
I showed up early that morning to cover the show. An outdoor stage was set up on Euclid near the student center. Almost no one was there. I was starting to think it wasn't actually going to happen. 3/
But lo and behold, a couple black Escalades with tinted windows eventually roll up, and out comes Stevie Wonder and his crew. The small group that was there (maybe about 20-25 people) went nuts. 4/
There still wasn't a big crowd once he got set up (keep in mind it was a last second show and it was 10 a.m. on a Saturday on a college campus). He began his performance. I can't describe how surreal it felt to see such a legendary singer perform to such a small crowd. 5/
Some estimates guessed the crowd was around 50 ppl, other said as many as 200 arrived. I'd guess it was about 100 at its biggest (sources at the end of this thread). 6/
I think my favorite part about the whole ordeal was how a good portion of the crowd was people who stopped by after hearing music. I remember some ppl stopped in the middle of the road once they realized it was actually Stevie Wonder. 7/
I remember one middle-aged couple I interviewed after the show just couldn't comprehend what they just witnessed. They told me they paid over $100 a ticket to see him a few years back. 8/
To be fair to those that attended the show, they were electric. People sang along and danced. Most didn't plan on seeing Stevie and kept saying how they couldn't believe what was happening. 9/
It was easily one of my favorite memories as a reporter. Unfortunately I can't find my story and pictures (the paper was The Cleveland Stater and it appears web archives are deleted). But I'll always remember it. 10/
Story from http://Billboard.com : https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/474316/stevie-wonder-performs-for-dozens-then-thousands-at-ohio-obama-rallies
Story from http://Cleveland.com : https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2012/11/few_know_about_stevie_wonder_a.html
