KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Pride of the Southland Band will be spending the weekend in the Sunshine State.
The band spent all day Friday traveling to Florida for the Citrus Bowl. The students will practice at least once before their performance. It will be the first practice for the band since the end of November.
“Hopefully the students can throw it back on,” Dr. Michael Stewart, the band director, said.
The Pride of the Southland Band will be performing before the game and during halftime, something that had been changed, but was ultimately reverted to the original plan after the change drew criticism.
“It very well could have gone a different way, but I’m thankful we came up with a solution that will allow all these students to be able to show off the hard work they put in over the course of the season,” Dr. Stewart said.
Dr. Stewart said the opportunity to perform at a bowl game and on national television is bittersweet, depending on which class you ask.
“With our seniors, this is the last performance," he said. “They know this is the last time they put the uniform on and perform. With our freshmen, this is the first time they traveled with the band to this extent. For them an opportunity to learn something new about the pride and learn something new about this community they’ve been a part of for the past season.”