A common tradition of Mississippi State University football games, aside from the bulldog and iconic cowbells, is the halftime musical performances by the Famous Maroon Band.
Traditionally, the Famous Maroon Band performs a patriotic performance, a homecoming performance and two themed half-time shows each season.
Since the Bulldogs were scheduled to play eight home games instead of the traditional seven this season, the Famous Maroon Band decided to increase the number of themed halftime shows to three.
Clifton Taylor, who has served as the associate director of bands at MSU since 2005, stated that the addition of an extra home game provided the Famous Maroon Band with an interesting opportunity.
“This home game we have here is the third home game in a row, and it’s also the third time we have performed this first show that we’ve done — the show we call ‘They Rocked the Hump,'” Taylor said.
Taylor proceeded to discuss the opportunity for the Famous Maroon Band students to show off their skills in an extra performance this football season.
“That gave us the opportunity to learn, be learning the next show this week actually, since we had already performed the first halftime show a couple of times,” Taylor said. “We were able to keep that one maintained to begin work on the next one, which will roll out for the Alabama game in a couple of weeks.”
Taylor mentioned how proud he was of the Famous Maroon Band’s dedication to their performances and ability to adapt to playing the additional show.
Rather than feel discouraged by the extra work that would be required, drum major Madeline Kelly, a junior biomedical engineering student, spoke only positively about the change.
“We’re all really excited about the ability to add an extra show and we think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Kelly said.
Kelly stated that she believed there was an additional factor in the increase of halftime shows.
“Last year I think we were around 380 band kids and this year we were over the 400s,” Kelly said.
It was Kelly’s opinion that the increase of band members led to a more diverse group of musicians.
“We’re obviously able to play music that requires more individuals with really big sounds, and so that’s really exciting,” Kelly said. “Since it was such a big class, we took in a lot of really, really talented players, and I think they have just brought the band to a whole new level. So we’re really excited.”
Aside from the increase of new students training, there are also a decent amount of experienced students. One such student is trombone squad leader and senior cybersecurity and operations student Michael McCusker, who has had years to master their talents.
“I can honestly tell you over the years, me being here, the FMB has improved tremendously in musicality and technique and overall tradition and enjoyment of football games performances,” McCusker said. “I think the directors this year really wanted to challenge us to show how much we have grown in the past couple of years.”
The Famous Maroon Band’s remaining themed shows include a sing-along show with songs to get the audience engaged, as well as the “FMB Wide Open” show, a performance showcasing the talents of the band’s members.