VIRGINIA BEACH — “You feel good?” John Boyd asked his marching band as they assembled for a rehearsal in the Princess Anne High School band room.
“Yes!” came the collective answer.
“You look good!” he said.
And so began their rehearsal late Friday morning for what Boyd called a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. The 52-member band is headed to New York City to perform at the red carpet premiere of Pharrell Williams’ new animated LEGO biopic movie, “Piece by Piece,” at Lincoln Center on Oct. 9. That morning, the Fabulous Marching Cavaliers will also perform on national television during the 8 a.m. hour of the “Today” show.
The band will play the “Piece by Piece” theme song, which they originally recorded for the movie’s soundtrack more than a year ago. The single was released last month, and the band (along with each individual musician) is credited on the song. Princess Anne is Pharrell’s alma mater.
A few weeks ago the pop star’s team reached out to ask if the band was interested in performing at the premiere on the “Today” show. Since then, the band — which is in the middle of its own competitive marching season — has been rehearsing and band parents have “moved heaven and earth” to make the trip possible. All costs are covered by the studios.