Every year, between the end of May and early June, the Wayne Valley Band Program goes on a four to five-day trip for a fun team-bonding experience after a long band season. Some previous trips include Walt Disney World, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts; and Cleveland, Ohio. This year, the band traveled to Nashville, Tennessee.
Nashville is the capital of Tennessee, and is known by many as “Music City” because of its history with country music. Some places that help give Nashville the iconic name include the Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the many Honky Tonks on Nashville’s Broadway.
The trip started on Thursday night, May 28th, with a long bus ride from Wayne to Nashville, lasting for around thirteen hours. After freshening up when reaching the hotel on Friday afternoon, May 29th, students headed to Broadway, where they had time to walk around and purchase souvenirs before eventually heading to JBJ’s, a Jon Bon Jovi-themed restaurant, for dinner. After dinner, band students headed to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center to see the Nashville Symphony, a show containing an enriching experience.
On Saturday morning, May 30th, the band program toured Vanderbilt University for a music clinic, where a professional critiqued their playing. After the clinic, students headed over to Centennial Park for some free time to walk around. After leaving Centennial Park, students headed back to Broadway for lunch and some more free time. After students finished lunch, they headed to the National Museum of African American Music, where they had the opportunity to walk around and view the exhibits. After this, students traveled to another museum, the Tennessee State Museum, to view state exhibits. After leaving the museum, students went to the nearby Nashville Farmer’s Market for dinner. To close off the night, students headed to the Grand Ole Opry for the Opry 100 show and a post-show guided tour.
On Sunday morning, May 31st, the program left for the Historic RCA Studio B, where they learned about many celebrities, such as Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley, who have recorded there. Students then ventured into the recording studio and recorded one piece they were practicing and previously received critiques from Vanderbilt University. After that, students traveled back on Broadway to have lunch at the Assembly Food Hall and go shopping for souvenirs. Students then went back to the bus to pick up their instruments and had a Standstill Marching Band, performing pop tunes including The White Stripes’ “7 Nation Army,” The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” The program then visited the Country Music Hall of Fame containing many exhibits, including one on Taylor Swift. After viewing the three floors, students roamed with each other to tour other parts of Nashville, some of whom trekked to see the Cumberland River. After, students reunited and had dinner at Ole Red Honky Tonk with a live singer, singing their song requests. They ended the night at the hotel by swimming in the pool or playing cards and games with friends.
On Monday morning, June 1st, the group unfortunately had to depart on their 13-hour bus ride after having breakfast in the hotel. The program had many stops along the way to let them stretch their legs, eventually arriving very early Tuesday morning at 12:30 A.M. Although the bus ride was long and tiresome, everyone who voyaged on the trip fully enjoyed it and cannot wait until next year’s band trip.
