The community has a chance to see Mount Vernon, Lisbon, Anamosa and Solon performing at the Hwy. 1 Marching Band Classic at Mount Vernon this year Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m.
“I really think this is an awesome opportunity for people to see all these bands together,” said Scott Weber, director of Mount Vernon’s Marching Mustangs. “It’s been an awesome experience to be part of this over the past two years, and now it is our chance to host it and be able to cheer on the other bands here.”
Weber said that he set the date for Tuesday, Oct. 15 and in the evening, and knows there may be some conflicts for some students.
“It’s not about each band being perfect, but having an opportunity to showcase their performances without worrying about judging,” Weber said.
All four bands will start to roll into the stands at roughly 5 p.m. to practice the national anthem together ahead of the show beginning.
A full concession stand will be at the Martha Parsons Family Activity Complex on the night, and the doors will open in the 6 p.m. time frame.The American Legion Auxiliary will provide the presentation of the colors as well.
Dave Ryan, the voice of the Mustangs, will be master of ceremonies for the night as well. Mount Vernon’s Marching Mustangs have had a strong start to their marching band season.
At the Mount Pleasant competition on Sept. 21, the Marching Mustangs placed first in Class 3A bands. They also earned accolades of Best Drums, Best Color Guard, Best Drum Majors and the crowd favorite award.
At Linn-Mar Saturday, Sept. 28, the Marching Mustangs placed second out of 10 3A bands, with a score of 77.4. The band also won best color guard and best percussion at the event. Weber posted that Mount Vernon missed the first place by roughly 0.3 points, and many of the students weren’t around for the awards presentation, as they were getting ready for the Mount Vernon Homecoming dance that evening.
“This show has been taken on so much by these students,” Weber said. “There’s a lot of emotion and heart that’s in the show.”
Weber noted that the show’s themes of grief and remembering those who have went on before have been important to him to show his students that it’s okay to have those emotions, as we all experience them in life.
“The judges have really liked this show,” Weber said. “And it helps that our drum line, drum majors, color guard and front ensemble are all blending well together in sections and excelling in their solo elements,” Weber said. “They’re having a really great time performing the show. Our focus is to continue making the show better every time we perform it.”
This past Saturday, Oct. 5, the band performed at Bands Across the Prairie and Five Seasons Marching Band competitions. The Marching Mustangs earned second place out of nine Class 3A bands at Bands Across the Prairie with a score of 83.5, and also earned people’s choice and best percussion accolades. At Five Seasons Marching Band competition, the band placed 2nd out of 10 in Class 3A with 76.9 points. The band also received best percussion accolades.