What could be better than a soft summer evening outdoors experiencing live music.  We think not much and so every summer the Hilliard Arts Council hosts a Sunday evening concert series featuring an eclectic mix of performers and music styles. The concerts are free to the public and occur in front of the Hilliard Civic and Cultural Arts Center.

Blue Spectrum -A SPECTRUM OF BLUES, ROCK, R&B, SOUL, POP, AND JAZZ

It was always Zayne Harshaw’s dream to have a band. He was diagnosed with autism at the age of four. When he was 14-years old, this self-taught guitarist would walk up to total strangers and ask them to be a member of his (at the time) non-existent band. At age 17, Zayne’s dream would become a reality on a snowy Saturday afternoon on January 19, 2013.

A Special Olympics teammate of many years joined as a rhythm guitarist. The autistic teen social group, Aspirations, which is held at the Nisonger Center at OSU, was where he met a bassist. The autistic teen social group held at Children’s Hospital would add a drummer. This foursome came together under the name of “Spectrum”.

The band name would eventually be changed to “Blue Spectrum” due to the “Spectrum” name itself being so prevalent and “Blue” being Zayne’s favorite color. The new name also brought new dimensions. A local blues jam introduced keyboardist, Amelia Rose, to the band. And the smooth vocalist, “Uncle Al” Jefferson, took over at bass. The Blue Spectrum family has since expanded to include saxophone extraordinaire, Clifford Marsh. But even with the changes, the message remained the same.

Together they share a deep love of creating and performing music and living the impassioned motto of Blue Spectrum: “Life is not to be viewed through the single lens of a diagnosis but to be lived through the Spectrum of potential, promise and purpose”.

Click here to learn more about the band.