The Reeltown Marching Band is getting lit.
This season the band is bringing audiences the show “Lit” for a show all about light. It features songs “This Little Light of Mine” with a New Orleans Dixieland sound, “Disco Inferno” by the Trammps, “Dancing in the Moonlight” by King Harvest, “All of the Lights” by Kanye West and “Light Em Up” by Fall Out Boy.
Reeltown band director Eric Thompson said they are hoping to have some LED lights on the drumline and incorporate fireworks on Senior Night.. But overall, he wanted the show to be something fun for the students.
“This is by far the strongest band I have had since I have been here,” Thompson said.
He credits part of it to the seniors, the soloist and leadership team who are all strong performers and musicians. He added some of the members are already performing on a collegiate level, and in the show, you can hear it.
With band camp this year, the Rebels have taken advantage of their new room in the Reeltown gym, and Thompson said it has been a game changer. It was a lot easier for the band to cool off in breaks and they played better during practice because of it.
Reeltown has three weeks of band camp. The first week, July 8-12, was for rookies and new leaders. The next two weeks was band camp for all the members and they also had a mini camp on Aug. 3.
“It’s been fun — I don’t know if I have had fun in band camp in a long time,” Thompson said. “I think being able to be here in this facility and having a group of kids who really care about being there and wanting to put on a good show for people has made it really enjoyable for me. We are excited about it.”
Thompson said another goal for the band this season is to fulfill the wish of Melody Jackson, a Reeltown sophomore who died of cancer in February. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Jackson wished for the marching band to have new uniforms. Thompson said he is hoping to have the uniforms in time for the last home game of the season.
The first show of the season is an away game at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery Thursday. Thompson said the band is especially excited for it — with the size of the stadium, plus the publicity of the game, he feels it’s going to help the students see what they have been working so hard toward.
“The first performance is always very eye opening for me as the director and for the kids because we start recording those performances from an aerial viewpoint,” Thompson said. “Every time we perform, we are recording it and the first thing we do in the first practice afterward is we watch it and then we just pick it apart.”
That guides the director and leadership team for what the focus will be that week’s practice so each time they perform, it strategically gets better. Thompson said one of the main goals is effortlessness. When it comes to a performance, he said you don’t want to look like you are trying, you want to look and sound as if it's instinctual.
While the season is young, the band already has plans for its competitions. The first will be Sept. 28 with the Camellia Marching Festival at Marbury High School. The next one will be Oct. 12 at the Heart of Dixie Band Festival at Prattville High School. The band also will have a fall concert with a Halloween theme Oct. 29 and a Christmas concert Dec. 12.
The student band leaders for this year are as follows: band captain Megan Giles, drum major Amelia Dillman, secretary Velva Durham, property officer Caleb Rush, uniform officer Jack Darnell, publicity officer Blake Parker, marching and maneuvering captain Christian Jackson, road crew captain Emma Nonales, bus captain Aidan Darnell, woodwind captain Jaxon Walker, high brass captain Will Cox, high brass assistant captain Jacob Fuller, low brass captain Dylan Darnell, low brass assistant captain Beckah Brumbeloe, percussion captain Jackson Rodgers, auxiliary captain Laura Carroll and assistant auxiliary captain Liliana Watkins.