ST. LOUIS – Sixteen buses carried hundreds of high school students and their parents to Friday’s Alicia Keys concert, and it was all made possible by the musician herself.
On their last day of school, Ralph Yarl’s classmates at Staley High School in Kansas City, Missouri, were surprised at an assembly by Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys.
“We were all like, ‘Oh my gosh, it didn’t feel real,’” said Jaidyn Keith, an incoming junior.
Through a video message, Keys gifted about 700 students and their parent’s free tickets to her St. Louis show on Friday.
“I thought it was a really great thing for her to do, like she’s honestly such an amazing human being for that,” said McKenna Dubes, a Staley High School graduate.
Keys was moved by the story of Ralph Yarl, a teenager who was shot in the head on April 13. Yarl lived, and about 1,200 of his classmates held a unity walk the following week.
“It was just to show our appreciation to him,” Keith said. “And to show him that we are with him and that we know he’s suffering right now, but we want to give our support as much as possible.”
After the four-hour bus ride, representatives from Roc Nation handed out the tickets as students and parents got off the chartered buses.
“I was so like touched and honored that she would reward our high school and community in such a magnificent way,” said Tes Kirby, a Staley High School parent. “Because she opened that door to every student, and every teacher, and everyone from our school to come down to this show.”
Whether they are some of Keys’s biggest fans:
“We love ‘Empire State of Mind,'” Kirby said.
Or those who don’t know her music too well. It seems some of these students do not have to be fans to be grateful.
“I mean, I don’t listen to Alicia Keys as much, but I think it’s just the thought of, you know, coming out, and it just feels good,” said Robert Collins, an incoming Staley High junior. “I just feel grateful for her sending this to us.”