I’ll keep it short today with a plug for high school band programs. I’ve worked some HS games this year. It takes me back to 2008 when our daughter was an all-state clarinet.

I don’t know what it’s like in other states, but here in Texas there are scores of amazing high school marching bands. These kids work their tails off – their schedules are absolutely brutal. They spend as many hours practicing as the football team does and they have to travel to all the football games as well as performing in their own marching band and solo & ensemble competitions, concerts, etc.

How they keep up with their school work is beyond me, but in my daughter’s class both the valediction and the salutation were band students. Going to marching band competitions as part of the state UIL/TMEA season or under the national Bands of America banner was always fun because we got to see so many different styles and an incredible level of quality.

Someone put together marching band snippets from last season of mostly Texas schools.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MdnMTEj4lY

Lastly a little band parent humor… You can tell a band parent because they are the only ones who don’t mind too much if their school’s football team doesn’t make the playoffs or gets knocked out early.

Welcome to RedState’s only daily open thread! Enjoy!