Throughout the community, from town to town, neighbor to neighbor, music rings out through the streets. A variety of songs all played live right on your doorstep. A recurring event year after year, it’s the marching band’s annual Lawn Concerts.
On August 23, 2025, the Papillion marching band went around to various houses in the PapillionLaVista area playing for the community in the annual Lawn Concerts. Occurring annually on the second Saturday of September, the Lawn Concerts are not only an opportunity to raise funding for the marching band, but a way for the band to connect with the community through music.
Students begin preparing for the Lawn Concerts all the way from the end of last school year, with freshmen joining in over the summer practices. Starting with short practices here and there while they prepare for their other events, such as football games and other performances, the band is able to slowly prepare for the Lawn Concerts at their own pace. However, around two or three weeks before the concerts, the band will focus more on preparing everyone and learning the music more directly.
“Our main preparation for it is largely focused on our incoming freshman,” senior Michael Williams said. “Making sure that they know how to properly march and how to properly play all the stand tunes that might come up.”
Making sure that everyone is prepared and comfortable playing allows the event to run smoothly, and the event to be a good introduction for performing in other events. Though it is more than just learning how to march and play a note, students must learn, or at least be familiar with a variety of songs for the concerts.
“We are usually given a packet of all the music that there is a chance that we will be playing,” senior Jamie Zayas said. “We will practice the music and go over them and some of the songs we will memorize.”
During the concerts, the community were able to pick which songs were performed from a list of various popular songs; the most popular picks being Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne, Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond, and Tusk by Fleetwood Mac. The marching band also played On Papio, the school’s anthem, at every performance.
“I think it is a really good opportunity for people to support the band,” senior Maddy Howe said. “And a lot of people, especially the parents, like to see certain people perform.”
The Lawn Concerts have been an annual traditions for years, lasting over generations of students. Not only a fundraiser, but a way to connect with the community through music.
“It is a nice community event with people getting together.” Williams said. “It is always great to see neighbors come out to see what the ruckus is about, just to see some students playing on a lawn.”
