Get ready, because the Beaver Area Marching Band is up first.

Saturday, September 7, was the 46th annual Beaver County Band Invitational at Geneva College.

The festival included all 13 marching bands from across the Beaver County area, including the Geneva College Golden Tornado Marching Band.

Each marching band’s halftime show was displayed for all students, family, and friends in attendance.

Before the festival started the New Brighton marching band performed the opening ceremonies including the National Anthem and a few other tune selections.

To start off the festival, the Beaver Area Marching Band performed their halftime show first.

“I am very proud of our marching band students for their performance at the Beaver County Band Festival. Everyone gave a great effort and represented our school very well,” stated Band Director Mr. J.P. Scanga.

The Beaver Area Marching Band played “Crazy in Love,” by Beyoncé, “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” by Guns N’ Roses, “Blinding Lights,” by The Weeknd, and “I love Rock and Roll,” by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts.

The Beaver Area Marching Band added a new visual dance into the closer of their show, and BCI was one of the first times the dance was performed to a big audience.

“This year our marching band had a stellar performance! We performed first out of 14 bands, and I think that gave us an amazing opportunity to showcase our hard work and powerful sound. We really enjoyed debuting the dance break on our last song. I am very proud of our band and all the hard work we’ve put in, and it was by far my favorite festival out of the four I’ve performed in,” shared Drum Major Josh Dahma.

Bands that performed alongside Beaver Area were Rochester, Riverside, South Side, Hopewell, Blackhawk, Central Valley, Ellwood City, Beaver Falls, Western Beaver, Ambridge, Freedom, New Brighton, and the Geneva College Marching Band.

“I thought the band did a great job bringing energy and sound. The crowd really enjoyed the show, and Beaver was definitely one of the best performances of the night,” added Assistant Band Director Mr. Steven Maker.

The festival brought in massive crowds for each school being represented.

Each performing marching band had their own halftime theme.

“I thought it was really fun and interesting to see how excited the other bands were to see our new dance,” explained sophomore mellophone player Kaylee Seevers.

At the end of the festival every drum major lined up and was given a plaque for their bands’ participation.

But to close the festival most bands joined the Geneva College Marching Band on the field to play along and cheer to the drumline tune, Jig 2.

“Saturday was a great night for our group. They brought a ton of energy and excitement which was awesome because we were the opening act of the show. I am looking forward to continuing working to get better and to have the opportunity to perform our show for our home crowd,” described drumline instructor Mr. Louis Didio.