The horn sections of the East Liverpool High School Pride in Stride Marching band wows the audience when they close out the band performance at the Dover High School Band Preview held at Crater Stadium in Dover, Saturday night. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

EAST LIVERPOOL –The East Liverpool High School Pride in Stride Marching Band traveled to Dover on Saturday night to participate along with eight other bands in the 2026 Dover High School Band Preview.

Other bands participating in the band preview included the host band the Dover Marching Tornadoes, Dover Marching Tornadoes Alumni Band, Strausburg Marching Tigers, Canton South Wildcat Marching Band, Tuslaw Marching Mustangs, Fredericktown High School Marching Band, Massillon Tiger Swing Band and Green High School Bulldog Marching Band.

According to Head Band Director Joshua Sipe, he choose to bring the band to Dover to give them the opportunity to see band programs they are not used to seeing.

“A lot of the time when we go to band shows in Columbiana County, we end up seeing the same schools which is awesome, we love supporting the county bands, but I wanted to expose the kids to larger programs and styles they might not see,” Sipe said. “Like the Massillon Swing Band for example, they do a lot of dancing and a different style marching and they are one of the oldest marching bands in the country, so it’s cool to get out there and see different programs than what we are used to.”

Band shows are band events where bands, the band community and band families can all get together and just show off for each other. Sipe described the shows as a non-competitive way for bands to go out and see each other’s half time shows since many times during Friday night football games the bands off to the side with it being too loud to really hear what’s going on. Band shows take place all across Columbiana County with East Liverpool hosting one at Patterson Field on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.

Sipe said the shows are fun experiences for the band members and noted by participating in these band shows, the band gains exposure and experience at what is also a nice social event for the band members.

“Everyone here is a band kid, a band parent or is involved in band somehow. It’s the nicest, easiest crowd we play for all year, super supportive of us, with the kids getting a chance to make friends from other schools that we may never see these kinds of schools again,” he said.

During the Dover High School Band Preview, ELHS Band in their new uniforms brought the crowd to their feet when they brought a party vibe to the stadium with their play list which consisted of Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance”, Keisha and Pitbull’s “Timber”, LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” and Walk The Moon’s “Shut UP and Dance.”

The dance/party theme music for the band this year is due to the band celebrating 100 years. Sipe said the idea was to turn the football field into a dance floor with the marching band up close and personnel for the last song.

The band is changing their show out within the next week to a classic rock themed show to pay homage to the alumni returning on Oct. 10 for the 100th year celebration. Some of the songs the band will be performing in what Sipe referred to as a powerhouse lineup will be Ozzy Osborne’s “Crazy Train”; AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck and Journey’s “Don’t Stop believing.

The East Liverpool High School Band Show will feature six bands from Columbiana County and one from the Akron area.

Sipe noted that at Patterson Field they have the advantage of being able to turn off the lights and instantly turn them back on, so during the show they shut off the main field lights, light up the bleachers in school colors, encourage all the participating bands to deck out their bands in LEDS, glow sticks or whatever they want to glow crazy on the football field. He said they started it last year and it turned out to be a really big hit with a lot of the schools, and it was a great fund raiser for the band, and they wanted to keep it going this year.

All the proceeds from the band show go back to the band program to help keep the band running.

In addition to the band show, the district will host the second annual Past, Present and Future Night on Oct. 10 which will unite the eighth-grade band members, current Pride In Stride band members and the alumni band members. Everyone is invited to join the band members in the Diamond after the performance to share stories and memories.

Currently, there are 65 high school band members, 23 eighth-grade band members and 31 in the seventh-grade band. The fifth- and sixth-grade bands have about 45 members. Most of the high school band members are freshmen and sophomores. There are only three seniors and seven juniors in the band.

With upperclassmen graduating and eighth grade members moving to the high school, Sipe expects the band to grow to about 75 or 80 band members next year. The band has doubled in size in three years and Sipe it hopeful to see the band grow to more than 100 members within the next three years.

kgarabrandt@mojonews.com