Garden Spot High School (GSHS) marching band drum major Brooke Gockley admits that the boy band music included in this year's show is ear candy. "The music is always stuck in my head," she said.

Fellow drum major Maddy Gehr agreed. "It's fun to listen to," she added.

Gockley and Gehr hope the infectious tunes will inspire audience members to respond to "The Boy Band Show," which they will present during football game halftimes this fall. "With the band (doing) dance (steps) this year, I hope the audience will interact," said Gockley. Band director Katie Beasley called the dance steps "jam-out sessions." Beasley's assistant director is Colton Henry, and the percussion director is Chad Whenry.

Specific songs that will be part of the show are, in order of play, "Drag Me Down" by One Direction, "Sucker" by the Jonas Brothers, "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys, and "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC. To learn the drill, the 76 band members met at the school for band camp from July 29 to Aug. 4, from 8 a.m. to noon and 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. each day.

Henry said the music was chosen by school music department staff members with the goal of finding something that was different from the shows the band has performed in the past, which have included outer space and circus themes.

Gockley noted that the choice of music has really affected the drill, stating that the band members will begin by forming the shape of a star. Gehr agreed that the drill features creative, exciting, and fun shapes, such as a conveyor belt figure where four groups of students form circles. "It really pushes the band's limits," said Gockley. "It's really unique." Other standout moments will include a rifle-line feature in "Sucker" and the color guard members using swing flags. Emma Kauffman will perform a trumpet solo on "Drag Me Down."

To boost morale, band leadership held costume theme nights, which included Time Travel Tuesday, Whimsical Wednesday, and section day on Thursday. Gockley and Gehr noted that the "whimsical" Wednesday theme inspired students to dress as fairies and Disney characters and throw glitter around. "There were lots of interpretations (of that theme)," stated Gockley.

In addition to halftime shows, the band will perform at the Barnstormers' stadium on Sunday, Aug. 27, as part of the Barnstormers' School Spirit program. The group will also take part in exhibitions at Lancaster Catholic High School and Ephrata High School as part of the Lancaster County Marching Band Coalition.