ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — The Robertsdale Golden Bear Marching Band is planning to take a ‘road trip’ this season featuring songs from around the country.

Numbers for the band are slightly up with about 115 members this year, said RHS Director Dayna Brannan and more than 200 signed up for the Central Baldwin Middle School Band this year.

“I can’t be certain, but I believe we have the largest middle school band in the county,” she said. “I am so excited about where we are and about the future of our band.”

Brannan said she is proud of the students, who have pushed through heat and rain-soaked days during the last few weeks.

“Things have cleared up this week,” Brannan said in an interview Aug. 18, “but during band camp (the last two weeks of July), I think we had a grand total of two days that didn’t get rained out.

“These kids have done everything we’ve asked them to do and the parents have been great, doing renovations on the band room and giving it a brand new paint job.”

Brannan said the campaign to purchase new instruments for the band has had initial success with about $15,000 of the $80,000 needed being raised so far.

“I think we’ve done a good job and all the cities are aware of our needs now and have us in their budgets, so it can only get better,” she said.

The band has been able to purchase a new baritone sax and is making a big push to replace percussion instruments (drums, snares, tenors and bass drums).

“We’re to the point where we are borrowing equipment just to get by right now,” she said, “so we’re going to have to do something pretty soon.”

Brannan said she has written five grant proposals and is planning to write three more during the coming months, which will help the program.

In the meantime, the band is pushing forward with its halftime show entitled “RHS On The Road,” featuring songs from around the country, beginning with the Ray Charles classic “Georgia,” then the standard “Stars & Stripes,” followed by Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom,” the Sinatra standard “New York, New York,” Elvis’ “Viva Las Vegas “and the Mama’s and the Papa’s 60s classic “California Dreamin’, leading into a Texas/Saints medley before closing the program with, what else, “Sweet Home Alabama.”

Brannan said she and assistant director Mark Meadows are welcoming several new directors to the band this year, along with student leadership, including senior drum major Michael Zona.

“He is such an excellent leader,” she said. “The kids follow him and he is always one step ahead of me anticipating the band’s needs.”

Captain for this year’s band is senior Patricia Langham, along with band officers Mia Martinez, vice president; Jessica Wilson, secretary; Catherine Power and Melody Warner; auxiliary captain MacKenzie Neth and co-captain Adriana Hertado; Emily Garrison, majorettes; and drum captains Houston Hughes and Blake Odom.

The RHS Golden Bear Marching Band presented an abbreviated show Friday in Foley in anticipation of its first home show this Friday night at J.D. Sellars Stadium.