Lining up in front of the 40 yard line, Kynzee Davis peers out into the Stone Castle crowd and counts silently to herself ‘one..two..three..four’, ensuring she doesn’t miss her mark.

As the whispers of “Come Together” drum up into the roars of a captivating halftime performance, she picks up her maroon flag and dances alongside her fellow color guard members.

Described by captain Ananda Huynh as “electrifying, sassy, and vogue,” this year’s halftime show offers a different experience for both the band and color guard, as well as the audience.

“It’s an upbeat, fun time compared to what we normally have,” said co-captain Kynzee Davis. “It’s stylistic; we’re conveying all the emotions and history of the music. There’s just a lot of energy.”

The soundtrack of the show offers a ten minute medley of the Beatles’ most anthemic songs, providing music that caters to multiple generations of listeners. Featuring “Eleanor Rigby,” “Come Together,” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” the spirit of the music brings the audience onto the field.

The show opens to the cinematic “Eleanor Rigby,” where the color guard arrives, poms in hand, dancing behind the marching Mighty Viking Band. As the wave of brass instruments swells and splashes over the crowd, the color guard theatrically runs around, connecting with everyone on the field.

This is a rarity: the band and colorguard becoming one rather than two distinct units working together. Among strengthening the bonds between the two teams, this connectivity ultimately allows the fluidity of the performance to thrive.

“We get to interact with the band, and we, unfortunately, usually never get to do that,” said Davis. “It sounds kind of stupid, but we’re really like ‘coming together’.”

As that number ceases, both teams truly combine when the funky percussion of “Come Together” strikes up and the color guard scurries into a “sassy” dance and flag line beside the band. With the crowd singing back the lyrics, flashes of maroon dim the Stone Castle’s lights when the team twirls their school’s colors in the air.

As the music crescendos, every chant of “come together right now..over me” is met with the crackle of flapping flags ringing out throughout the entire castle—the energy is palpable.

The catharsis of the show and the vibrations of the crowd converge into the electricity of the show’s closer: “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Lining up in front of the band to perform a rifle line, the energy of the show is exuded one last time through the intensity of the color guard’s movements.

This dynamic show, brimming with spirited melodrama, is one-of-a-kind for this year’s team. In their experience within the program, they’ve never seen something quite like it.

“This show feels different for me than any other show we have ever performed,” said Davis. “I don’t feel pressured to put on an act like the shows in the past—it really lets me just live in the moment.

Typically, the color guard’s halftime shows are centered around a specific story with a specific theme, and the music is composed to enhance the emotions the color guard is portraying through their performance.

In contrast, this year’s show is less calculated, focusing more on personifying the music instead of learning specific movements.

For the color guard team, this offers a chance to fully illustrate and embody the freeing nature of the music, allowing them to express themselves in an individually unique way.

“You can let your emotions shine through; you don’t have to try and push yourself to perform,” said Huynh. “You’re just genuinely happy to be there.”

This sentiment is shared even between newer members, who were brought into this newly structured environment without the experience of the prior thematic shows. But, since they get to primarily channel themselves, it’s both motivating and validating.

“I enjoy performing it because I get to be sassy and enthusiastic, which is encouraging for my first show,” said freshman Ellie Davis. “It’s really entertaining; it’s just really fun.”

With a shift in leadership between the new band director, Carrie Mitchell, and new color guard instructor, Taylor Duncan, niceties like these are imperative. But even through these changes, the members have new and old relationships to fall back on.

“We’ve had more of an opportunity to connect with the [color]guard more,” said Huynh. “We’re more interactive, and I feel like I know them more personally then I did, or had the chance to, before”

In crafting a show that relies on both the skill of the band and the instinct of the color guard, this year’s halftime performance serves as a catalyst that brings both teams together to highlight the effect that music can have on its audiences.

“In this show, I feel like [the band and colorguard] both have different aspects that we’re good at,” said Huynh. “It really allows us to really come together as a big, strong, electric force.”