The crowd in the stands cheer as the James Bowie High School Outdoor Performing Ensemble performs their one-of-a-kind halftime show for viewers to enjoy.

JBHSOPE have an upcoming competition called the Bands of America, San Antonio Regional and although they’re used to competing with some of the top bands in Texas, a top-ranked band from Avon, Indiana adds a little more spice to the event.

The theme of this year’s show was inspired by a painting of Magritte called “The Son of Man” and the directors depict part of the paintings into the marching show’s “dream” sequence.

“We’re taking you through a girl’s dream after she falls asleep,” director Jennifer Hanford said. “She wakes up in her dream and then some of these characters come through in her dream and they take her through this journey and a lot of happiness occurs in the dream and then it gets to the darker side where it gets a little scarier. She eventually wakes right back up and it’s essentially just a dream sequence.”

According to Horn Rank, Avon is one of the top-15 bands in the nation. They are a prestigious marching band from Indiana and sophomore drum major Adam Dinkins believes they want to come to Texas for the competition.

“I feel like they want to try and compete with Texas bands because Texas has the best marching bands,” Dinkins said.

This also isn’t the ensemble’s first time competing with this marching band.

“We competed against them last year in Indianapolis, during Bands of America (BOA) Grand Nationals,” section leader junior Ali Rodriguez said.  “We went through prelims and semi-finals, but did not move on to finals. Carmel won the competition.”

This competition is also one of their bigger competitions, mostly because Texan marching bands are higher ranked, adding more pressure.

“This competition is a super regional so it is a much bigger competition than the others we have competed in this year,” Rodriguez said. “It’s known for being very competitive because it has mostly Texas bands, and Texas has some of the best bands in the nation.”

There is also more pressure for the drum majors and section leaders trying to make sure everything is organized and everyone is prepared to put in their part for the show.

“There is always pressure when you are in a leadership position because people look up to you all the time and you can’t be phased by anything around you,” Dinkins said.

There are also common challenges JBHSOPE faces when they perform the show itself also.

“Props have been very hard to deal with this year because we have added many new types of props and they can be very difficult to assemble, dismantle, and to carry onto the field,” Rodriguez said.

The band members however have learned how to adjust themselves in a way to overcome these challenges to put their best show forward.

“We have had to learn how to efficiently move them from the semi-truck to the field which has been hard because of how heavy they are,” Rodriguez said.

Although Avon might be one of the band’s biggest competitors and the upcoming BOA Super Regional is more competitive, the JBHSOPE is ready for the challenge.

“I like competition and I’ve been around Avon for many years,” Hanford said. “I’m used to seeing them because I’ve previously competed with them when I was in high school marching band and it’s just another good band that we get to compete against.”

No matter the result, the band gains an experience that will last with them forever, after high school and beyond.

“In all my three years in this program, I have been all over the experiences spectrum,” Dinkins said. “I love every competition no matter the result. I take that experience and use it to my advantage each time.”