White County High School Marching Band To Play At Outback Bowl

The White County High School Marching Band received an invitation to perform at the Outback Bowl in Tampa Bay this winter.

Director Roger Mills said that he hopes the performance is an opportunity for his students to make lasting memories.

“Just remembering being in school I just remember so many moments,” Mills said. “And I just hope this is one of those moments that they’re going to be able to take with them. Something they can say ‘I did this,’ that was special to them and that nobody else in the world had done.”

Mills said it’s been several years since the group received such an invitation. He said the group was set to perform at the Peach Bowl last year but then lost that opportunity due to COVID. Mills said they received the invite from WorldStrides, an organization that provides educational travel opportunities to students. He said the group saw a YouTube video of the band and reached out with the invitation.

He said the next steps are to fundraise for the trip and to work on the setlist.

“Right now for our halftime show we’re preparing something called ‘Phoenix: A New Beginning,'” Mills said. “And it’s opening up with a  tune called ‘The Phoenix,’ ‘Your Song,’ Elton John, ‘On Top of the World,’ and closing out with ‘Best of Times.’ So those are all possibilities along with our fight song, and patriotic things while we do the parade.”

Mills said the last time the band received an opportunity like this was in 2017 when they performed in Washington D.C. as Tennessee’s band in the Independence Day Parade.

The Outback Bowl will be on January 1, 2022.