Marching into Homecoming

The Spirit of the Mountain Marching Band celebrated Homecoming weekend a little differently than other groups on campus. Liberty’s marching band participated in a number of Homecoming festivities, including a drumline performance at Friday night’s bonfire, as well as Saturday’s tailgating, pregame and halftime. 

The marching band welcomed its alumni back to Williams Stadium Saturday, Oct. 20, during its pregame performance and hosted former band president Luke Braswell for its post-practice devotionals. The alumni learned portions of the pregame show and played on-field along with the
marching band.

Saturday was the first time in more than 10 years that the band has marched with alumni on the field, according to Director of Bands Stephen Kerr.

“It has been a while,” Kerr said. “We don’t do it every year, and the last time we did it was probably 10 years ago. We had a gathering and they played with us on the field, but it doesn’t happen very frequently. I would like for it to happen a lot more frequently, but it just hasn’t worked out that way.”

The group ranged from members who graduated as many as 30 years ago to some who graduated just last year. Each member played his or her original instrument, whether it was a flute or a bass drum or spinning a flag with the color guard.

 “The band is such a family, and once they graduate we tend to lose touch,” Kerr said. “It’s more meaningful to me than a good portion of the (current) band because they don’t know those people, especially those who graduated more than three years ago.”

Braswell, a 2011 graduate of the Spirit of the Mountain, participated in the pre-game show and organized much of the alumni group. He was also asked to be the band’s speaker for Saturday morning devotions, where he spoke about continuing to sow seeds for Christ beyond college.

“I was a little shocked because I was an aviation major and not a religion major, so I was very humbled, but I was pretty excited too,” Braswell said. “I was very flattered.” 

For the second time since the start of the season the marching band put on its pregame show, featuring “Ain’t No Mountain” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and “I Can See for Miles” by The Who. All but one of its previous pregame shows were canceled due to weather interference.

And, even though each home game prior to Oct. 13 was plagued by rain and lightning delays, the band continued to play and perform, even in pouring rain. Despite the soaked performances and canceled pregame shows, Kerr is working hard to keep the band members positive.

“Last week helped a lot — last Saturday was a gorgeous day,” Kerr said. “I’m concerned about the membership. … It’s no fun to be standing there in the rain because you made this commitment and you have to be there. Band kids, by margin, are rather resilient. I teach that we can’t control the weather, but we can control how we react to the weather. But I’m still concerned that it’s going to be that last straw for a particular group of
students.”

The Spirit of the Mountain is looking forward to several more performances this season, such as an exhibition at Virginia’s state high school band competition, as well as pregame and halftime shows at each remaining home game. 

Their next halftime performance will be during Saturday, Nov. 24’s football home game, where they will honor military veterans with a special Veterans Day performance in Williams Stadium.