Brian Hagberg
SHEFFIELD, Pa. – Spartans, Raiders, and Legends were on the football field at Sheffield High School Friday night, but it wasn’t for a clash on the gridiron.
Following a 2-year hiatus, Sheffield Music on the Mountain held its first event since 2019 on Friday. Four drum and bugle corps from Drum Corps International performed in front of a near-capacity crowd.
“I don’t have the final count, but we sold about 600 (tickets in presale),” Sheffield Music Boosters Chairman Art Lane said.
The four regimens gathered at Wolverine Mountain from across the country. Princeton, New Jersey’s Raiders opened the show, followed by Southwind out of Mobile, Alabama. Kalamazoo, Michigan’s Legends took the field next, and Nashua, New Hampshire’s Spartans closed the performance.
The Spartans arrived in Sheffield on Tuesday and stayed at SAMHS while rehearsing for Friday’s event.
PHOTO GAllERY: 2022 Sheffield Music on the Mountain. Photos by Brian Hagberg
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“It’s typically one of the very first stops on tour, so as soon as we pull into the school, and we see the stairs and all the familiar sights that are here in Sheffield, it’s like ‘OK, we’re on the road, we know what we’re doing and the season is well underway,'” the Spartans’ Paul LaFlamme said.
Full interview with LaFlamme:
For at least one member of the Spartans, the stairs leading up to the field hold extra special meaning. Drum major Ibby Sonia used the stairs as the theme for her essay on college applications.
“If you’ve never been here, there are 79 stairs leading up to the field,” Sonia said. “We stay here for a few days beforehand so that’s going up and down a lot of stairs. This place just has a lot of really special memories for me.”
See Sonia’s full interview here:
While the Spartans stayed in Sheffield, other regimens took up residence in Tidioute, Marienville, and Kane.
“The community does gain a little bit of interaction with them as far as being out doing other things,” Lane said. “They just don’t stay at the school. The kids pretty much do. But adult staff usually will venture out.”
LaFlamme said the Sheffield community embraces the Spartans when they come to town.
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” LaFlamme said. “The committee that runs the show is so welcoming. It’s really nice to be welcomed. It feels like this show is a community event. It’s a lot of fun.”
That reaction carried over into the event as well.
“It’s just absolutely incredible,” Sonia said. “We had full stands. “The crowd was just cheering the entire time. The entire corps was just so excited. It’s so good to be back.”
