On Saturday Sept. 12th, over 400 high schoolers from all over the East Coast collaborated with the 485 Marching Royal Dukes to perform at halftime of the JMU-Lehigh football game at Bridgeforth Stadium. A few Harrisonburg students attended JMU Band Day, including sophomore Blain Boggs.

“It was a really cool experience [to perform with them],” Boggs said. High school students came from as far off as Vermont and Georgia to perform. JMU’s marching band holds a 43 year tradition of performing at football games and is nicknamed “Virginia’s Finest”, attracting high school students to get a taste of the action. The Marching Royal Dukes (MRDs) are one of the largest college marching bands in the state.

“I plan on being an MRD,” Boggs said. The group of nearly 900 played in front of a crowd of just over 15,000 attending the football game.

Coming together with other bands is done by colleges all over the country to give high schoolers an opportunity to learn from the university bands and help them live their dreams of playing in a college marching band.

“No [there wasn’t any pressure], I’ve performed in front of crowds before,” Boggs said. The band took the field at halftime and got into formation before performing the song “Get It On”, by the group Chase. While the music was a main focus, JMU Band Day also offered  opportunities to meet many new people.

“My favorite part was seeing all the different schools and their uniforms,” Boggs said. The event will be held again next year.

Gallery • 9 Photos

Irene Liu

JMU fans celebrate after the JMU football team scores a touchdown.