After winning second place at state finals for their show “Retrovision” in 2020, the Mighty Cardinal Band is flying into their new marching season – quite literally. This year’s show titled “Flight 2021” mimics the different elements and feelings of a plane ride, and distinguishes them through each of the four musical movements. It features songs such as “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin, “One Day I’ll Fly Away” from the hit movie “Moulin Rouge,” “Learn to Fly” by the Foo Fighters, “Thunderstruck” by ACDC, and “Fly Away” by Lenny Kravitz.

Associate band director Jordan Hayes came up with the theme, plus the majority of costume and prop designs. His inspiration derived from a trip he took to Maine last winter break.

“When I boarded the Southwest plane, there were so many sounds and things that were happening and for some reason, I was in a marching band mood,” Hayes said. “We took off and I had a whole epiphany about this show having old-school style flight attendant uniforms. I thought about how the show could progress with pre-show being boarding, movement one being take off, then smooth sailing, turbulence, so on and so forth, plus all the sounds we could integrate, all the things we could do. It just kind of created itself.”

Though rehearsals only started about a month ago, they have already learned the entirety of their show (not including pre-show), and are set to perform at their first competition of the year, Sounds of Fall, on Saturday, Oct. 2. Likewise, fans can always get a chance to watch them play in the stands and on the field at every varsity football game.

In comparison to previous years, this is the quickest they have ever learned and put out the drill.

“I think the consistency in our staffing has helped tremendously,” headband director Jerry Whorton said. “Together, we all worked backward from September 15th, the date we set to know all of our drill, all the way to August 1st, the start of camp, and we mapped out every single rehearsal to allow us to be where we wanted to be.”

From late Monday afternoons to early Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings, the band can be found rehearsing in the school’s parking lot for hours on end.

“What you put in is what you’re gonna get out,” drum major Autumn Bell said. “By pushing through, working together, and lifting each other up, it definitely benefits in the end.”

Overall, the band has been progressing at a rate that’s never been seen before in Melissa and has pushed through much of the adversity that they similarly fought last year. Hopefully, they see new successes this marching season and are able to continue to grow even more.