PITTSTON, LUZERNE CO. (WOLF) — Drums and pipes echoed through the field as the Pittston Area High School Marching Band continued to prepare for the big stage at the Bands of America’s Grand National Championships.

Pittston is being marked as the only team from Pennsylvania chosen to compete among 110 elite groups nationwide.

Band Director Adam Burdett shared with us the process that led the band to march alongside the best in the country.

“It was something that I went to as a spectator two years ago for the first time, and I had never seen the bands of American National Championship. And it’s just an incredible thing, bands from all over the country. And then your mind starts to think, well, ‘Why can’t we do this?’ And it started with the parents meeting back in November of 2023. And it really took the two years to decide, ‘Do we want to do this? Can we do this? And when would be a good time?’ So we made it a two-year process, and now we’re getting there. It’s kind of cool to be the first band from this area to do that. And we plan on representing our area well,” said Burdett.

With just four weeks to go, Burdett offered a glimpse into how the marching band will make the most of their trip to Indianapolis.

“It’s about a 9 or 10-hour drive. So, we have it set up where we’re leaving on a Thursday at, like, 1 a.m.. And driving through the night. So it’s a three day competition. We’ll be competing against 110 other bands. So on Thursday, we’re going to go to Lucas Oil Stadium and just take the kids inside because they’ve never seen a place like this. It’s impressive. And watch some of the other bands that are performing on Thursday.

Six years of commitment are reaching a high note as Lillie Solovey and Kayla Meranti reflected on their journey from the very beginning to now.

“We both joined in 2020. That year, it was Covid. We were basically just standing around doing nothing. So, coming from that and there was maybe like 20 something of us to how big we are now. It’s amazing. I’m so excited to go because like, it’s like a once in a lifetime thing for me. I’ve never gotten to go to like a big stadium like this. It’s really cool,” said Lillie Solovey.

For Solovey and Meranti, every hour spent on the field is a reminder of their band’s dedication.

“We’re here Friday football games, practice, all competitions. Saturday, we start at, like 9:00 in the morning, sometimes get home at like 11 or 12 at night,” said Solovey.

“The guard comes extra days on Thursdays. We definitely have it a little bit tougher because we can’t just look at music like we have to sit here and do it over and over again. It’s definitely a lot mentally, just as much as physically, I will say. But we have a lot of new kids. They’re all really young and I think they’re doing great,” said Meranti.

Pittston Area High School’s Marching Band will take the national stage at 8:45 a.m. on November 14.