The Tate High School Showband of the South played a big role in Wednesday’s Keyla Fest to celebrate and honor Keyla Richardson, a top 3 finalist on American Idol.

The band not only marched in a celebratory parade downtown, but also had the unique opportunity to perform a custom arrangement for Richardson.

Richardson visited the Life Shifting Learning Academy on Highway 29 in Ensley, where she teaches, and the Showband  was there to bring a pep rally type atmosphere as she arrived.

“We had a special song as she had sung on American Idol on the way to her top three journey, which was ‘Signed, Sealed, and Delivered’ by Stevie Wonder. Myself and Mr. Joshua Nobles (assistant band director) went through her catalog of everything she sung and we made the decision that it has a special touch to it,” Showband director Ronald Gray said Thursday. “We contacted our arranger and had him write a very similar rendition to what she sung on TV so she could hear us perform it when she got there to the event.”

It took band students just three days to learn the music and put the entire presentation together after returning from state concert band evaluations in Tallahassee. At the school, students got a taste of Hollywood and real TV production, spending about two hours performing multiple takes for the American Idol film crew.

The final cut remains to be seen, but the Showband of the South performance, the parade, Richardson’s hometown concert and more will, in some form, air in a lengthy segment during American Idol’s national Monday night broadcast on ABC.

“I don’t think the kids have really digested the magnitude of what they have done,” Gray said. “I think once they see themselves on TV and see the coverage it is potentially going to get at the finale of American Idol, it’s probably going to hit them like, ‘wow.’”

“Despite the intense pressure to work with the TV crew, it was a unique and fun experience for not only myself, but for the Showband and Tate High School,” said senior Annika Spiekermann. “It’s not every day you can hear someone say they got to perform for an American Idol contestant, especially from your hometown. This is a huge opportunity for Pensacola and showing the world what we are about.”

“Wednesday was such a fun, unique experience,” sophomore Gracie Ferlo said. “We were all so proud of Keyla and we did our best playing as well as we could to celebrate her incredible feat.”

“I think this is a side of performance and show biz that the kids aren’t going to get to experience a whole bunch just because it is high school,” assistant band director Nobles remarked. “Having that experience so early in their musical careers is something I don’t think that they’ll ever forget about.”

“We did a whirlwind of events with these kids, and they did a phenomenal job, and it’s a testament to the consistency in which these kids show up and really want to perform and be at the next level with their presentation,” Gray added.

“Even amid the last-minute changes in our schedule and the pressure of working with television professionals, we continued to play our best for the chance we were given,” Courtney Gunter, a senior Showband member, said. “Being a part of the community that Ms. Richardson came home to after all of her hard work was absolutely amazing. This was an incredible experience and a perfect way to get the Showband back into the exposure and view of the crowd.”

Now, the Tate Showband of the South members are waiting with great anticipation to see the video from Keyla Fest events on national TV on Monday night. And they are getting ready to vote as many times as possible to help Richardson become the next American Idol.

But regardless of the outcome, Gray said she’s already a winner.

“She’s already a winner for us; she’s already won in life. People enjoy her presence, her poise on the stage,” he said. “Her performance ability is something that is very unique to her. It’s very attractive to people to fall in love with not just her voice but her story.:

“For us here in the Showband , she’s already a winner.”

Images above courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com. Photos below for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.