FHN Knightpride marching band is shifting into a more modern feel with this year’s show called “Wired.” Their first performances will be on August 24 at the first home varsity football game and on August 30 at the FHHS preview.

“We’re doing great,” junior Drum Major Grace Sickendick said. “The music definitely is in a lot better place than it was last year and we have a lot more visuals.”

“Wired” is about the connection between humans. It is meant to convey the story of humans trying too hard to be different and eventually coming together as a community. This message will be represented by visual aspects such as wires connecting the band members and choreography.

“The underlying theme is something I’ve been thinking about,” Band Director Rob Stegeman said. “My generation, the millennials, we were taught that we need to be individual and that’s not really how I see it. The human experience for me is more about unity and togetherness.”

The band has been working hard to put together the show and for it to be ready for the competitive season that starts in September. They have been working since early June and are now practicing everyday after school.

“We’ve come a long way from where we started, and I’m really proud of where we are now,” freshman Brooke Dyson said. “Going from such a low-score learning environment to such a high, top producing, hardcore group, it was a rough adjustment, but with time I got used to it because I was willing to put effort into what I was doing.”

According to Stegeman, the goal of last year’s show, “Jump,” was to change the face of the program. The goal of this year’s show is to not only continue the modern feeling, but to take the band to a national competitive circuit. Stegeman feels that though the level of competition will be an adjustment for many of the incoming freshmen, he has high hopes for the rest of the season.

“I feel really good this year,” Stegman said. “This is a much more complex show, but the mentality of the group is 100 percent. They stand there quietly and intently, waiting for instructions and they go and run it back and make those corrections and run it again. They are working so hard. They want to win.”