Marching bands are a staple at high school and college football games across the Lower 48. In Alaska, though, only a few schools have them.
Kian Watkins, Bjorn van der Goore, and Lukaz San Juan perform in Anchorage with the Bettye Davis East T-Birds marching band at the East High Football field during a game against Bartlett on Sept. 30, 2023
“I’ve just always loved music. It’s what I want to do, like all my life, and being the drum major is just a lot of fun,” Emerson said. “I never first intended to march at all, but I’ve really loved it and it’s just a ton of fun, and I definitely want to continue doing it.” One sign of that renaissance was the number of schools that competed in Colony High School’s marching band invitational last month. There were five, including East, tying the record for the number of bands participating. However, schools without a robust marching band tradition have struggled to gain interest. Instruments and uniforms are expensive, and convincing high school students to walk and play at the same time when it’s cold outside can be a daunting task.
The Bettye Davis East High Band marching performs during halftime at the East High Football field on Sept. 30, 2023 Kenai Central then added the Kenai Peninsula’s first marching band in 2021. In Anchorage, East started its marching band in 2022. Burton and Carroll are hopeful more schools join the fun.
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