The Perry High School Marching Band has started performing in front of crowds as they look to excel at a couple of competitions this year. 

Band Director Blaine Schmidt says that they have 62 enrolled into marching band, which has been an increase from previous years. Schmidt says that they will be performing at every single home game of the football season. Schmidt mentions that the performance will consist of rock n roll music from the 1970s while telling the story of life of death. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that their first performance was a success, but expects the performance to be better every single time. 

“The music will come along each time and we’ll get more of the marching learned. And each week the show will evolve a little bit as we learn more and more of it.”

The Perry High School Band will travel to Waukee to play at the Iowa High School Music Association’s State Marching Band Festival on October 14th and on that same day they will travel to Ankeny for the Mid-Iowa Band Championship to be judged. . Schmidt says that he is thrilled to take his band to these marching band events this year. 

“It’s really exciting because as I’ve been here longer now, it seems like things are a little bit more comfortable for me. I know, I know what I’m doing a little bit more. The students know me better. It’s a lot different from year one, so it’s really exciting to be able to take everything that I’ve learned, everything that the students have learned, and take it out to these performances.”

Schmidt notes they will also travel to Tennessee to visit Nashville and Memphis and perform near the Grand Ole Opry in April. He says they have already started fundraising for the trip.