The St. Louis Steel Band put on the annual Festival of Steel April 13, and it was a huge success!
Festival of Steel is held every year in the high school gymnasium where numerous different steel bands gather to put on an amazing show of steel performances. Not only do the St. Louis steel bands perform, but nearby steel bands also come to perform as well. All together, there were 13 different bands who rocked out their performances.
Festival of Steel is a huge event, and each and every player puts in hours of hard work in preparation for the concert. Steel band student Rachel Jewell experienced her last Festival of Steel that day, due to the fact that she is graduating this year. “I was very sad that this was my last Festival of Steel. It definitely brought up a lot of emotions, but it was super fun,” Jewell recalled. “I always love the Festival of Steel and the memories that we make as a band.”
First year steel band member Skylar DuBois-Kleinhans experienced his first Festival of Steel that day. He said, “The whole festival was really fun. I got to see what it is like to be in a steel band.” DuBois-Kleinhans is looking forward to future Festival of Steel concerts in the future because he enjoyed playing at the event. DuBois continued, “The dance party made it fun. And looking around and seeing smiling faces. Another part that was my favorite was the improv clinic because I got to see how people could make up a song.”
One thing that makes Festival of Steel special is the mass band performances. The bands playing at the concert all learn a handful of songs to play together to end the concert with a bang. In fact, Jewell said, “Festival of Steel is always special to me because it brings musicians together from all over. We all just get to play songs together and have fun. It’s really special to hear everyone playing the same thing for mass band.” Jewell also commented that the performance of “Hot Stuff” was especially fun this time around as members of the St. Louis band blindfolded themselves as they played.
The St. Louis steel bands will be traveling to Hastings, Michigan, and New Philadelphia, Ohio, for performances next weekend.
