Lindale band will attend the multiple contests in the next few weeks. The band will compete at Mineola on October 10, UIL at Longview’s Lobo Stadium on October 15, and possibly at State at Baylor’s McLane Stadium on November 1.
“We have been memorizing our music, working on drill and marching fundamentals, and just trying to make things better every day,” head band director Steven Moore said. “If the band keeps working hard, I think we can put our best foot forward and do well.”
The Mineola contest has a preliminary round and a final round. All bands will march once, and those ranked top nine by the judges will march in the finals and receive a second ranking.
“The Mineola contest will give us a run in a competitive setting before our main event which is the UIL regional contest,” Moore said. “It allows judges to look at us and give us comments to take and make the band better for UIL.”
The UIL contest has one round of marching and does not have rankings. The band will get a division rating from one to five with one being the highest.
“When we go to UIL, we compete for our 47-year streak of first division ratings,” Moore said. “This year, we hope to reach 48 years of the band getting a one.”
The state marching contest also has preliminary and final rounds. The top five ranking bands after the preliminary round will advance to the final round where the title of State Military Marching Band Champion will be given to the first-place band.
“We have won state for the past two years,” Moore said. “The band will perform as best as they can and hopefully bring home a third-year gold medal.”
Their state performance includes a box and diamond formation. They also have opening and closing fanfares written for them by Dr. Tim Rhea, the Director of Bands and Music Activities at Texas A&M University.
“We haven’t done anything like the box drill before, and it has been a long time since any band has done anything like it,” Moore said. “Our fanfares are the original compositions that nobody has ever played.”
The band learns a new marching drill every year and performs it during halftime at football games and competitions.
“This year’s drill has been one of my favorites to watch,” head drum major Kaitlyn Groth said. “The four diamonds is a difficult part of the drill to do, but I think the band does it really well.”
