Violinist’s “Weapon” Saves Vigil for Elijah McClain

Photos and Story by Giles Clasen

For 30 minutes it looked like the vigil for Elijah McClain would be remembered as just another violent altercation between police in riot gear and protestors in t-shirts and shorts.            

Before it could start, the police deemed that the vigil an unlawful protest. They announced that the group must disperse or risk arrest. 

The police stood shoulder-to-shoulder clad in body armor. They held batons and other weapons. 

At times, they eased the group backwards one foot at a time. Frequently, the police forced individuals back using their batons or chemical agents. Screams of, “Medic,” rose from the crowd. Volunteers worked together to pull the injured to safety.

The vigil was looking darkest when a line of officers holding shotguns and grenade launchers with rubber bullets began pointing their weapons into the crowd. People started to run. 

Suddenly, a violin wailed, playing Tupac’s “Changes”.

The crowd stopped screaming at the police. The police stopped pushing against the crowd. Everyone turned to watch a man play his violin while standing in the bed of his black pickup truck. 

Jeff Hughes had illegally driven his truck around barriers and over curbs blocking the parking lot’s entrance to set up his PA system, and began playing his violin to honor Elijah.

“The music totally just stopped everything and the hostility and the fear evaporated,” Hughes said. “Just all of a sudden people felt like we were all united. You could even see a shift from police officers. You could see them go from being on the attack to being pacified. There was no longer a threat. Everyone enjoyed the music and we were there for Elijah.”

An officer in a cruiser had followed Hughes into the empty lot and quickly questioned him. Hughes told the officer, who wasn’t in riot gear, that he had come to play his violin and honor Elijah. The officer let Hughes set up and play. 

Once Hughes started playing, the protestors moved from the police lines and surrounded his truck to listen, mourn and honor Elijah McClain.

“I felt like I was in a little bit of a war zone,” Hughes said. “I felt like I needed to remain calm, move quick, and focus. I was just ultra-focused on getting my PA set up. There was zero shakiness. I knew that the music was a bigger weapon than any other weapon out there. I knew that music was the biggest weapon. I knew music was the weapon to make the chaos stop.”

Hughes is a professional violinist who has performed for Barack and Michelle Obama twice. He has played with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Boettcher Concert Hall. 

Hughes has performed with orchestras around the world and with rock groups including the Foo Fighters. Hughes regularly plays corporate events for companies including Lockheed Martin, Google, and Microsoft. 

Hughes wasn’t attending the vigil as a professional musician, though. Instead, he had come to the vigil as part of the community of violinists joining together to honor Elijah. McClain had taught himself to play the guitar and violin.

It wasn’t Hughes’s professional experience that got him to the right place at the right time to stop the violence.