Bucyrus XBand playing at rock hall of fame

BUCYRUS - Tunes played by Redmen will again resonate the halls of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum this winter.

The Bucyrus High School XBand has been invited back for a special performance at the in the 22nd annual Tri-C High School Rock Off on Feb. 10.

The band played in the contest last year, finishing in the top six, but not in top three.

"Nobody was nervous," Fiske said after that show. "That was the thing I was most proud of."

The unique band was started about 14 years ago when Mark Fiske, the school's band director, noticed that interest in jazz band was dwindling. He decided a band that incorporated electric guitars and played rock'n'roll would fit the bill. School administrators agreed.

"As far as we know, this is the only band like this that is school-sponsored in the state," Fiske said.

The XBand is one of 44 bands from Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Pennsylvania competing for this year’s grand prize of more than $2,000. The competition begins Jan. 20, and three bands from each of the four preliminary rounds will be chosen to perform again during The Final Exam is Feb. 17.

“Our XBand members did a wonderful job in last year’s competition in reaching The Final Exam,” Fiske said. “The students and I are very excited for this opportunity, and we can’t wait to show everyone the awesome musical talents at Bucyrus High School.”

Judges will evaluate the students' stage presence, how well the crowd responds to the performance and how well they actually play the songs.

Tickets for the XBand’s performance are $10 each online at ticketing.rockhall.com. Once on the website, enter “BUCYRUS” in the “Promo Code” box in the right corner of the screen. After clicking “Submit," select “February” as the Date of the Visit and scroll down to Feb. 10 to click the “Purchase” link.

For more information about the Bucyrus XBand, please contact Mark Fiske at mfiske@bucyrusschools.org. Complete details about the Tri-C High School Rock Off are available at www.rockhall.com/high-school-rock.

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