Pensacola is planning a free homecoming concert to celebrate “American Idol” contestant Keyla Richardson.
Tickets will become available this Friday and Saturday.
Richardson is currently in the top 5 and will compete to be in the top 3 on Monday, May 4.
The free homecoming concert for Richardson will be Wednesday, May 6, at the Hunter Amphitheater behind Wahoos Stadium, following a parade in downtown Pensacola. The parade will begin at 4 p.m. on South Palafox at Cedar Street. Richardson will receive a key to the city during a short ceremony. The concert begins at 6:30 p.m.
Concert tickets will be available at 10 a.m. Friday, May 1. There are 4,000 tickets available with a four-ticket maximum per person. Tickets for the overflow space can be claimed at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2, with a six-ticket maximum and a total of 6,000 available tickets.
For more information on “KeylaFest,” and to claim tickets, visit keylafest.com.
The Pensacola native is a music teacher at Life Shifting Learning Academy (LSLA), a private Christian academy. Richardson grew up singing in church. She’s released a few singles and was a contestant on BET’s gospel competition show, “Sunday Best” in 2019.
In her “American Idol” audition, where she sang “Glitter in the Air” by Pink, Richardson said she’s had a “long musical journey.”
“I never give up; I want to keep going and give it one more try,” she said.
Richardson is a single mother to her young son, Drew, who says she is “the best mom in the world.”
“She deserves everything,” said Drew in a segment on “American Idol.”
Richardson secured her spot in the top 5 singing “Lover” by Taylor Swift and “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta James in the second round.
Through her journey on the show, Richardson has become a symbol of hometown pride for Pensacola.
Mayor D.C. Reeves traveled to Hollywood with his daughter to cheer on Richardson. Rep. Michelle Salzman even gave a shout-out from the house floor during this week’s special session.
Though he feels confident that Richardson will make it to the top 3, Reeves said during this week’s press conference that her success on the show should be celebrated no matter what happens on Monday.
“224,000 auditions and you’re one of the five best people…that’s an incredible feat,” he said.
There are three ways to vote on American Idol — on the American Idol website, text message, social media using Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Voters can vote 10 times per contestant per method, so each person could cast 50 votes for Richardson across all methods.
To vote on the American Idol website, visitAmericanIdol.com/Vote once the voting window opens.
For text message voting, text the number of the finalist you would like to vote for to “21523.” Richardson’s voting number will be 20.
