Rapper Macklemore’s uplifting Instagram post about Willow Kembel’s incident at his concert.
Willow Kembel is a 7th grader at Heartland Community School, and what happened to her while at a live Macklemore concert in Minneapolis in early October is pretty unforgettable. She was chosen to go on stage for a dance-off during the concert and accidentally slipped and fell right out the gate. But instead of bolting, she jumped up and continued the dance-off!
Her courage to stand back up after an embarassing moment gained the attention of not only Macklemore but the Minneapolis media. Her story was shared in an article and television report by WCCO News in Minneapolis.
By nature, Willow is shy and doesn’t enjoy being in the limelight or bringing undue attention to herself, said her mother, Megan. “She only did the interview with WCCO Minneapolis because she wanted to glorify Macklemore and share what an amazing man he is,” said Megan.
Macklemore is a very popular American singer, songwriter, and rapper from Seattle whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty. After reading about Willow’s experience, you will agree that he is pretty amazing!
Willow doesn’t want any more attention about what happened at the concert and believes she did what anyone would do in the same situation—always get back up. So, after reading this, just soak it up and learn a valuable life lesson from it, like Willow has.
Reprinted from WCCO News Minneapolis, written by Marielle Mohs
MINNEAPOLIS — A recent Minneapolis tour stop for rapper Macklemore turned into an unforgettable memory for one superfan, a life lesson for everyone at the concert.
Megan Kembel and her 13-year-old daughter Willow drove from Nebraska to Minneapolis on Oct. 1 to see Willow’s favorite musical artist, Macklemore.
“We had a girls’ trip. It was a 982-mile trip for us,” said Megan Kembel.
The two got in line outside The Armory in downtown Minneapolis early, so they got to be front row at the general admission venue.
“We waited three hours for it,” said Willow Kembel.
The wait was worth it, as the mother-daughter pair secured spots right up front. Halfway through the show, Macklemore called for volunteers on stage for a dance-off.
“There’s a bunch of people like, ‘Get up there! get up there! come on!'” said Willow, who was chosen by the rapper, and crowd members hoisted her over the security gate to get on stage.
When it was Willow’s turn to dance center stage, she accidentally slipped and fell.
“I felt like I just wanted to run off that stage and get my mom,” said Willow, but she didn’t. Her courage kicked in, she stood up, and kept dancing.
Macklemore took notice and brought it to the attention of the audience, using it as a teaching moment.
In a video posted on the rapper’s Instagram account, he tells the crowd: “Willow, you showed us what we all do in life. I’ve slipped before, my love. I’ve slipped in front of the entire world before, and you know what you did? You got back up, and you kept dancing.”
Macklemore took notice and brought it to the attention of the audience, using it as a teaching moment.
In a video posted on the rapper’s Instagram account, he tells the crowd: “Willow, you showed us what we all do in life. I’ve slipped before, my love. I’ve slipped in front of the entire world before, and you know what you did? You got back up, and you kept dancing.”
The crowd showed her love, too, and started chanting her name.
“I was feeling so many emotions,” said Willow.
“I thank him. Parent to parent, I thank him for what he did,” said Megan.
A concert turned into a lesson about life: falling doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Standing back up is your superpower.
“I learned to be more confident in myself,” said Willow.
Get this – Macklemore offered Willow tickets to any of his shows for the rest of her life.
Here is the link to view the television report on Willow’s experience.
