Blackhawks 7th in Class, 18th Overall at State Fair

It was a good day for the growing Sheridan Blackhawks Marching Band, which placed 18th overall out of 39 marching bands on Friday during the 75th Indiana State Fair Band Day.

Sheridan Blackhawks placed seventh of the 17 bands in their new AA class. Sheridan’s percussion ranked sixth in the AA class and 16th overall, and Sheridan’s Guard ranked ninth in AA class and 22nd overall.

Marching band director Libby Doublestein is proud of the band.

“With less than four points separating us from being in the top 16 bands who perform again in the (Sweet 16) Finals (which were Friday night), it was quite an emotional day,” she said.

In 2019, the Marching Blackhawks placed 22nd, in 2021 the band placed 19th, and this year placed 18th. “Having the chance to perform again in the Finals would have been icing on the cake for this season,” she said.

This year’s placing is encouraging after the band was moved up into a larger category with tougher competition.

In years past, Sheridan Blackhawks have competed in Class A for smaller bands. This year, the band has 26 playing members (winds and percussion and 10 guard members, plus a drum major) and bumped up to Class AA for 26-50 playing members (winds and percussion). The Blackhawks competed with much larger bands for Class Awards (first, second, third place in each class) and Class Caption Awards – Guard (Auxiliary) and Percussion.

Doublestein said, “The judges were generally complementary and spoke about the significant improvement throughout the season and how evident that was in their performance.”

The band’s State Fair Band Day show theme was “Into the Storm,” by Robert W. Smith. The musical piece presented the intensity, fury and relentless pounding of the wildest of storms. Set pieces depicted a farm, including a barn, windmill and silo. Toward the end of the show, the band formed concentric circles “to move dramatically across the field like a tornado, causing the set pieces to succumb to the storm,” Doublestein said.

The Blackhawks’ State Fair Band Day started early. The band met at the school at 5 a.m. to arrive at the Fairgrounds when the gates opened. “We did stretches and basics as the sun came up, which was a very peaceful start to the day,” the band director said. “Before stepping up to the start line, it is a tradition for our band to form a circle and quietly sing ‘Amazing Grace.’ The tears started forming in many of our eyes, knowing how special this last performance was to everyone, and especially to our super-seniors (students who graduated in June, and chose to stay and march one last season).”

Then it was time to line up to go out onto the track for the competition.

Doublestein said, “Lining up at the start line, the band was focused and prepared. Stepping onto the field, the energy continued to grow. They performed with excellence and pride, knowing this was the culmination of over 250 hours spent working together this summer. That hard work paid off with a performance that every person who had anything to do with the show — be it marching, directing, building, supporting from the stands — was truly proud of.”

The band performed at 9:27 a.m. Friday, fourth in the day’s lineup. Winds and percussion students sported black sleeveless shirts, white marching band pants, and black marching shoes. The guard members wore gray uniforms to represent clouds, with blue silks for blue skies, yellow lightning bolt silks, and black and white swing flags, made by band parents and community members, which represented swirling wind. There was also a guard member in a red and white dress and boots, acting as the farmer experiencing the storm.

 “Thankfully, the temperature hadn’t gotten unbearable yet by that time. Our uniforms with the sleeveless shirts helped a great deal with handling the hot temps,” Doublestein said.

The band spent the day enjoying the State Fair. “We had a good amount of time to enjoy the Fair since we performed so early. Fair food, rides, and must-have pictures riding ‘The Champion!’” she said. They also stayed through to watch the bands perform in the Finals.

Doublestein expects the Marching Blackhawks to return to 2023 Indiana State Fair Band Day. She said, “At dismissal early Saturday morning (around 12:30 a.m., when we returned from the Fair), the rookies were shedding just as many tears as the seven-year super seniors. They all have so much heart, and their dedication to each other and this band is remarkable.”

This year, the band has been to four contests so far, placing 11th at Centerville, second at Montgomery County, 12th at Muncie Central, and 13th at Anderson.

What’s next?

The first day of classes for Sheridan Community Schools is today. There will be a few high school band practices over the next two weeks and the band will perform during halftime at Sheridan’s first home football game, on Friday, Aug. 19.

Doublestein looks forward to discovering the Blackhawks’ potential this school year.

“​Our marching band grew by almost double from 2021 to 2022. We are excited to start planning for next year.”

Contact Betsy Reason at betsy@thetimes24-7.com.