They had a chance to view history, play jazz in a historic spot, perform in the Beale Street Parade and play at halftime of the nationally televised Liberty Bowl.

Their journey began early Tuesday morning with a 12-hour bus trip and ended late Saturday night, giving the students a chance to enhance their bond with band mates.

The Fort Dodge All-American Marching Band started their trip at the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Professional Rodeo.

The next day the band dove into history with a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum.

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The Fort Dodge All-American Marching Band (in ponchos) performs at the Liberty Bowl halftime show in Memphis, Tennessee.

On Thursday, the 85 Dodger students played in the Beale Street Parade.

“Memphis has a lot of rich history, and it was amazing to be able to experience some of it first hand,” said senior Aidan Recker. “One of my favorite moments was being at the Civil Rights Museum and learning about the fight African-Americans had to struggle through to secure basic rights. It was a rather sombering experience seeing exactly where Martin Luther King Jr. spent his last hours before being assassinated.”

They also attended an award assembly where they received top honor for their performance.

“My favorite parts were marching in the parade and performing at Graceland,” said senior Drum Major captain Manuela Rodriguez. “Marching in the parade was amazing because Owen (Hamlow), Leif (Hamilton) and Brooklyn (Kaloupek, drum majors) and I got to do different kinds of salutes and the crowd really loved it.

“People watching the parade would salute back at us, and I even heard some of them singing ‘Cecelia’ (the song the band played while marching). It was also great to hear the song played by the amazing band one last time.”

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Fort Dodge senior Drew Essman, band director Al Paulson and senior Drum Major Manuela Rodriguez hold up Fort Dodge’s band award for competing in the Liberty Bowl and for earning first place in the parade competition.

The morning of the Liberty Bowl was a special day for the group as Jazz I performed for a crowd inside Graceland as part of the Graceland Elvis Experience.

“We got the opportunity to meet people from other schools and we got to hear them perform to see different styles. I thought seeing the Cincinnati band was really neat. It gave us the opportunity to look and see how much more we can put into the program and build it up,” said junior Ella Johnson. “My favorite part was playing at Graceland. It was so cool to see all the others cheer us on and receive a pin that only performers got there.

“My papa loved Elvis, so it’s cool to see more about Elvis and it was kind of emotional thinking about him.”

The band played one of Elvis’ biggest hits, “Jailhouse Rock.”

“One of the top trip highlights was having the opportunity to play at Graceland,” said senior Mina DeJong. “I am so proud of our jazz band for all of the work we have put in, and it was so rewarding and exciting to perform ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and the other songs in our set at Graceland. I also really enjoyed marching in the Liberty Bowl parade. Specifically, I loved hearing the people watching the parade sing along to our performance of ‘Cecilia’ and compliment our band as we walked back to the bus.

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The Fort Dodge Jazz I band performs at Graceland. The group played the popular Elvis hit “Jailhouse Rock” and a couple of other songs.

“Playing at Graceland was an event I will never forget. The combination of the set list, the people, and the legendary location made for a truly special experience.”

It was a change of pace and weather for the Dodgers on Friday for the Liberty Bowl game between Cincinnati and Navy.

The bowl game brought a drop in temperature and lots of rain that the band fought through for their performance.

“Another one of my favorite parts was playing in the Liberty Bowl,” Recker said. “While the weather was not ideal, it still will be a wonderful moment to remember. Being surrounded by many other like-minded high school musicians was fun and I loved being with some of my closest friends every day.”

For some students being able to soak up the history and enjoy some time with friends was what made the trip memorable.

“My time in Memphis was filled with moments spent with friends and surrounded by music,” said junior Eli Johnson. “Music was everywhere in the city from Elvis — the King of Rock — to R&B artists both near and far.

“My favorite part of the trip was the time I spent with some of my closest friends. Whether we were in the hotel just talking and enjoying each other’s company, or outside in the beautiful, cold, rainy weather. The weather was definitely unpredictable, but overall I had an amazing time and would do it a thousand times over, with some time to rest in between that is.”