Members of the Orem community who attended the Scera Shell Outdoor Theatre on Memorial Day honored troops in a unique way.
The Scera Theatre held a Memorial Day program to kick off the theater’s summer events by hosting the ’90s R&B band All-4-One.
The event started when the Scera Theatre’s president Adam Robertson welcomed the American Legion Post 72 to the stage to present the American flag.
The crowd recited the Pledge of Allegiance after Rachel Ker, of Orem, sang the national anthem.
After the Pledge of Allegiance, the American Legion brought on stage the service flags for each United States military branch of service. Members of the audience clapped and cheered as flags for the Army, the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Air Force, the Coast Guard and the Marines were brought to the stage.
Finally, the legion brought the POW and MIA flag onto the stage, while they asked the crowd to stand in a moment of silence to honor the men and women in the military who had died. During this time, one of the officers played “Taps” in honor of those who had died to protect freedom.
Garrett Black, a senior from San Jose, Calif., enjoyed the flag service at the beginning of the concert.
“I thought it was really respectful and a great way to honor the troops,” he said.
After the short service, All-4-One took the stage and sang one of its most popular songs, “I Can Love You Like That,” a chart-topping single from the ’90s.
As self-proclaimed “balladiers,” All-4-One serenaded the audience with one love ballad after another, while people in the crowd held their loved ones.
Delious Kennedy, one of the band’s lead singers, said he feels blessed because of the band’s success. He said it feels unreal that the band is approaching its 20th anniversary.
“When we first started out, we wanted to be like The Temptations, who had a 30-year career and performed until they wanted to stop,” Kennedy said. “We love to be on stage performing, and as long as fans are coming, we will be performing.”
The band put on a show that allowed many concert-goers to remember life 20 years ago. Kristen Jones, a nursing major from Salt Lake City, enjoyed the music because it reminded her of her childhood.
“We’ve heard these songs from early on,” she said. “It’s fun to hear them all again. I also liked how chill (All-4-One) was and how much they interacted with the audience.”
Jamie Jones, another of the band’s lead singers, said he loves to perform in front of a live audience and connect with people he does not know.
“There’s no feeling like being on stage and sharing a feeling with a lot of people you don’t know,” he said. “You’re all on the same page of experiencing the music. I love the feelings I get of seeing the lyric come to life through the audience. As a performer, there’s really nothing better than that.”
The band performed hits from its 1994 self-titled album and its 1995 “And the Music Speaks” album, as well as its most recent album, “No Regrets,” released in 2009.
Jones said the band enjoys coming to Utah because the fans make it a fun place to be.
“Utah has always been an awesome place to come because the fans have always been so supportive and sweet,” Jones said. “We love coming to Utah.”
