Band camp has begun at Sturgis High School for the 2022 marching season

It’s a great week for band camp at Sturgis High School this week.

“As long as it doesn’t rain,” said director Jim Whitehead. “We’re in the 70s (for high temperatures) all week. It should be fun.”

The 116 members who make up Sturgis High School band are preparing this week for their 2022 show “Made to Order.” This year, students got a special treat. The songs were chosen by them.

The band opens their show with "Everybody Talks" by the American rock band Neon Tree. Inspired by 1960 rock music, "Everybody Talks" was released in 2011. The song became a hit in October 2012, selling over 2 million digital downloads and hitting No. 1 on the adult pop songs list.

The band continues with "Hit the Road Jack," written by Percy Mayfield and recorded by Ray Charles. This song was a U.S. number 1 hit in 1961 and won a Grammy award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording. The song became one of Ray Charles' signature songs.

The band's third song, "Escape" (The Piña Colada Song) peaked in December of 1970 to the No. 1 song in the U.S. Featured in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy, "Escape" regained popularity in recent years and has become a pop classic.

The band closes with the hit song "When I'm Sixty-four," written by Paul McCartney. This was one of the first songs written by the artist at the age of 14. The song is sung by a young man to his lover and is about his plans of their growing old together. Featuring five soloists, the catchy tune is the perfect way to close out the 2022 show, Whitehead said. 

“It should be a good show,” he said. “It’s always fun to put a program together. The kids really like marching season. For a lot of them, it’s the highlight of their high school career.”

This week, band members are rehearsing 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Friday. They’re making it fun with themed days like Hawaiian Day, Adam Sandler Day, Clicks Day, Dads Day and Color Day. The students will put on a community performance at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, July 30, to play as much of the show they have ready. The performance will be held on the marching band practice field, located behind SHS. A March Off also is planned 6-6:30 p.m. Thursday for parents.

Band camp is made possible by the help of many. Parents help out as well as community staff members, many of whom are former band members who come back to assist. Meals during the week have been provided by area businesses including Abbott, Central Meat Market, Cottage Inn, Culvers, Dairy Queen, El Sembrador, El Taco Loco, Northside Market, Walmart and Wings Etc.

The band operates under the direction of Whitehead with Trisha Fontanilla and Lauren Whitehead acting as drum majors.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: news-Sturgis High School-band camp