Arts & Culture

UK Pep Band Members Help UK "see spirit."

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 18, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Pep Band, part of the Wildcat Marching Band, plays an integral role in amplifying team spirit courtside year round. From women's and men's basketball games to volleyball matches, the band performs regularly for Big Blue Nation including the more than 24,000 Wildcat fans who regularly fill Rupp Arena.

In addition to long nights at Rupp and Memorial Coliseum, these dedicated student musicians take their talents on the road for the blue and white. A select 29-member road band travels to every SEC and NCAA tournament game. Even when the team is not there, UK Pep Band is entertaining Wildcat fans at university-wide events and pep rallies.

Big Blue Nation isn't the only group that recognizes the talents of the UK Pep Band; they have even been recognized nationally for their work. Last fall, Bleacher Report listed the UK Pep Band to its top 10 list of "The Most Entertaining Pep Bands in College Basketball."

Though it is housed in the UK School of Music and is directed by Scott-Lee Atchison, band members represent a variety of majors on campus.

Saxophone players Tim Michl, a kinesiology junior from Lexington, and Beth Bailey, a media arts and studies senior from Union, Ky., give us some insight into what it means to not only help fans "see blue." but "hear blue" as well.