The Pride of Lyons had a FANTASTIC day at the Central States Marching Festival at K-State this Saturday! Since the Emporia festival, we have had a chance to add many new visual elements to the show, making it even more challenging and competitive. The band started the day with an hour-long rehearsal clinic from Mr. Eric Stambaugh, the band director at Hutch CC, formerly of Buhler HS. He had planned to come work with the band last week until he realized he’d be our clinician on Saturday. Well, by the end of the clinic, he was so impressed with our students and the energy they are putting into the show that he promised to make time to come out to Lyons to work with us again before State!
That clinic happened at Memorial Stadium, the K-State Marching Band’s practice field. However, our field show performance took place a few hours later at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, where the students played their hearts out! The video is up on the band's website, and you can hear how the crowd reacts to our sound and energy!
The performance was immediately followed by a video critique with another experienced band director, who gave us more constructive feedback to continue improving our show. Forty high school bands from all around Kansas and Oklahoma performed that day, and the Pride earned a Superior (1) rating again! The next two weeks will be focused on polishing and cleaning the rough edges of the show to prepare for the grand finale of the season—the KBA 1234A Marching Band Championships on October 28 at Hutch CC!