The Travelers Rest High School Golden Regiment discover and fight the Dark Side this season. While memorizing show music and steps for competitions, they still prepare every week to uplift the crowd and student section during Friday night football games.

The theme for this season’s marching band show explores man’s natural fear of the dark. Their theme “The Dark Side” presents digital sounds incorporated into the music and opens with an eerie voice-over. Students blindly wander the field, frightened by the unseen creatures in the night. Mr. Carl Wylie, the band director, says, “‘The Dark Side’ is a musical rendition of the feelings, the emotions, the primal fear humans have when the sun goes down.” He continues, “All of us have some fear of the dark. It’s built into us.” During three movements, the students overcome the darkness, completing the show with triumphant music mixed with Dies Irae elements. The show stays primarily in minor keys which produce a “dark sound.” Students give visuals through the show with color guards and members along with electronic sound effects.

Preparations for each season never end. Wylie starts planning as early as January, with Band Camp in May and summer along with rehearsals. There are forty-two performing marching band members and seven color guard members. Captains in each section work hard in making the band better, like drum captain Olivia James. James shares that the band portrays “The Dark Side” by “performing many visuals that we haven’t used in previous years.” The dedicated band members practice nine hours a week and spend all day on Saturdays for competitions.

The Golden Regiment is a young band this season, but also bigger than in the past years. Wylie comments on how hard everyone is working considering the young members and how hard the upperclassmen work to help. Drum major Hannah Gowen comments on how the marching band has affected her. “The band has been a blessing that has taught me the true meaning of ‘ohana,” she says. They received an award for best color guard along with third in 1A class on their first competition at Boiling Springs on September 24. The Golden Regiment continues to prepare for Upper State on October 22 and strives for State Finals on October 29.