Event Preview: Northeast Georgia Marching Exhibition

Above: BRINGING IT: The University of Georgia Redcoat Marching Band attends the 2024 Northeast Georgia Marching Exhibition on Sept. 17 in Cedar Shoals High School’s Waters-Wilkins Stadium. The Clarke Central High School Marching Band has not performed at NEGME before, so this year’s, which will take place on Sept. 16, will allow band students to receive outside input from judges. “(The exhibition) is going to make sure that how (the feedback) is delivered is going to make the kids know they’re doing a good job, but also they need to work on (something specific),” CCHS Director of Bands Christopher Simpson said. Photo courtesy of Morgan Wynn

The Clarke Central High School Marching Band will perform at the Northeast Georgia Marching Exhibition on Sept. 16.

The Clarke Central High School Marching Band will take to Cedar Shoals High School's Waters-Wilkins Stadium field at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 16, performing for the first time at the Northeast Georgia Marching Exhibition, also known as NEGME.

The 2025 NEGME has been organized by the University of Georgia’s Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Mu Chapter National Honorary Band Fraternity to give high school marching band students across Northeast Georgia positive feedback to apply to their future performances and competitions. The event will begin at 6 p.m., featuring 12 different school's marching bands, with tickets set to be paid at the door for $15 for the general public and $10 for those with a high school or college student ID. 

“I look at (the exhibition) as a gauge (to help) our band (teaching) staff in terms of instruction we need to have in place for our students. It also gives valuable feedback for the kids that (participate),” Clarke Central High School Director of Bands Christopher Simpson said.

Chris Creswell, a composer from Jacksonville, FL, wrote the setlist for the CCHS marching band to perform at NEGME. Songs include “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire, “Hazy Shade of Winter” by Simon and Garfunkel, “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles and “Schools Out” by Alice Cooper.

“(At NEGME), we're going to be performing our halftime show that we're doing for competitions (and performances),” CCHS Drum Major Ruby Frye, a senior, said, “The theme of our show is ‘Around the Sun.’ (Each song) goes through the four seasons of the year, (starting in) the fall, then winter, then spring, and then summer.”

CCHS's first marching band competition will take place on October 4th, and Simpson hopes that the 2025 NEGME will boost band students’ morale for competition season. 

“A lot of times our community doesn't get to see the behind-the-scenes when we have rehearsals. When we do have that support, and the kids do see the community rallying behind them and cheering them on in the stands, that is a big motivator,” Simpson said. “(The community support) increases the sense of pride that we have in ourselves.”

Story by Jay Braswell

Jay Braswell is a sophomore at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Georgia, and is the Outreach Director for the iliad Literary-Art Magazine. Braswell hopes that her contribution to the iliad will help inspire young artists around the Athens community. When they aren’t hanging out with friends, Braswell enjoys listening to music and painting.