ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism will host its STARS of the Spectrum 25th anniversary concert at Fenway Park in Boston later this month, and during a nationwide search, Jennifer Msumba from Hardee County was chosen to perform an original song.

What You Need To Know

  • Jennifer Msumba will sing her original song "The Boston Song"  

  • STARS of the Spectrum: Flutie Foundation’s 25th anniversary concert will be held on Aug. 24

  • Msumba was chosen in a nationwide search to perform at Fenway Park in Boston

  • Spectrum News first introduced Msumaba two years ago, when the filmmaker was working on a new documentary

“I was just crying because it’s not just a concert for me,” said Msumba. “It means a lot more.”

It’ll be a homecoming for the autistic woman who moved to Florida about four years ago. Msumba said she was happy to prove her Massachusetts doctors wrong about how well she would do in the Sunshine State.

“I’m going home to the same place that said I wasn’t really going to succeed and I’m succeeding,” she said. “My family gets to see me perform live for the first time on stage.”

The song Msumba wrote is appropriately titled “The Boston Song.” It’s about Msumba’s personal journey of overcoming adversity.

“My family, they can see me now. Hear my song. Whatever tomorrow brings, I’ve come home,” she sings. “I’ve come back around. Healed from the inside out, I made it home. Found my voice and I’m singing loud. Come into my home.”

Zach Moore, founder and owner of Coastal Creative in St. Petersburg, wanted to give Msumba a realistic background to practice performing her song. Moore fired up his new LED Volume that stands 20-feet tall and is 45-feet wide.

“We built this image in our software of a Fenway Style park,” he said. “This is the perfect application for us because we’re able to generate this image.”

Msumba was impressed when she saw the massive curved LED wall that contains 11 million pixels.

“It’s breathtaking,” she said. “It has the spirit of Fenway Park and it’s just grand.”

Spectrum News first introduced Msumaba two years ago, when the filmmaker was working on a new documentary titled “Like the Girls Who Wear Pink” which focuses on autism and won an award at the Sunscreen Film Festival in 2022.

“If you know someone with autism or a disability, don’t limit them or make them think that they can’t do really cool things,” she said. “If you have a disability, don’t limit yourself based on what people might tell you or what you think of yourself.”

The STARS of the Spectrum: Flutie Foundation’s 25th anniversary concert will be held on Aug. 24.