CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The day after her captor was sentenced to life and 1,000 years in prison, Amanda Berry made her first appearance at a public event.

Rapper Nelly introduced her onstage early Saturday evening during the day-long RoverFest concert at Voinovich Park.

"He said, 'Everyone, here's Amanda Berry,' and she came out with a friend, another young woman," concertgoer Kayleigh Fladung said. "She didn't say anything, but she was smiling and happy.

"She waved to the crowd, everyone went crazy cheering, and she went backstage. Nelly did his set, 4 or 5 songs, and then he brought her out again and everyone cheered."

Berry, 27, was kidnapped by Ariel Castro in 2003 and escaped in May with fellow captives Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. The women made public statements on video earlier this month but have not given interviews or otherwise appeared in public.

Fladung said other concertgoers said Shane "Rover" French of WMMS FM/100.7 had announced the station was hoping to have Berry at the show.

"It was cool to see but still very surprising," she said.