Under first-year director Robert Palmer, there is ‘a lot of good buzz’ about the Blue Raider Band.
COLUMBIA, KY. (08/26/2025) The Lindsey Wilson University Blue Raider Band has treated the campus and area community to several performances in August. The miniconcerts have been infused with the high level of energy and enthusiasm that first-year Director of Bands Robert Palmer has already injected into the rising program.
The Blue Raider Band turned up on move-in day to perform a noon Saturday concert for Lindsey Wilson students and their family members, and later that evening performed at Adair County High School’s Mark Twain Pre-Season Exhibition.
On Thursday, Aug. 28, the marching band will give its first halftime performance at a weeknight home Lindsey Wilson football game when the Blue Raiders open the 2025 season against Texas Wesleyan University at Parnell Family Stadium.
To say it has been a busy two months for Palmer since he took over the program in early July would be an understatement. But that’s just how the veteran music leader likes things.
“I look at this season as a blank canvas,” Palmer said during the Blue Raider Band’s preseason camp. “We are finding our sound, we’re finding our style, and we’re finding how we identify ourselves. That’s very exciting.”
‘A lot of good buzz’
Palmer said there’s already been “a lot of good buzz” about the band.
“There’s a lot of excitement and hype around the band, and the students are really excited about playing — especially when the school year and football season start,” he said.
The more than two dozen members of the Blue Raider Band will perform a football halftime show dubbed “Heroes and Villains,” a tribute to 21st-century comic book movies that lean heavily on 20th-century rock ‘n’ roll songs. The show’s selections are also a subtle nod to Lindsey Wilson’s diverse student body, which includes students from more than three dozen countries.
“It’s a really fun theme, and the students picked it,” said Palmer. “With football crowds, we want our show to be exciting and entertaining. So most of our tunes are fast-paced and upbeat popular songs.”
Selections the band will draw on for this year’s football halftime show will include the Swedish group Blue Swede’s 1973 cover “Hooked on a Feeling,” which was in the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy; the 1980 hit “Back in Black” by Australian rockers AC/DC from the 2008 film Iron Man; the 1984 heavy-metal single “Rock You Like a Hurricane” by German band the Scorpions, used in the 2004 film Hellboy; and the 2000 hit “Bye Bye Bye” by U.S. boy band NSYNC that opened the 2024 film Deadpool & Wolverine.
More than halftime shows
The Blue Raider Band’s performances will not be confined to Parnell Family Stadium in 2025-26. The band plans to appear at area events and at local gatherings, including Christmas in Columbia.
“I think what’s most exciting for the students is that our schedule involves more than just football games,” said Palmer. “We’re going to be involved in the community.”
Emily Morrow ’27 of Somerset, Kentucky, who plays trombone, said she is looking forward to performing at football games as well as at community events.
“I’m really excited for all of the things we’ve got lined up for this season,” said Morrow, who is a nursing major with a minor in music. “It’s great to be part of a huge change and something different.”
Alexander Dugger ’29 of Albany, Kentucky, is one of the band’s newcomers who looks forward to being part of a special year.
“I think it’s awesome, because we’re going to be making history this year,” said Dugger, who is a percussionist in the band and a sustainability and environmental studies major.
Cayden Bragg ’29 of Bowling Green, Kentucky, is not only a newcomer to the Blue Raider Band but to marching bands in general, as this is his first season performing trumpet in a marching band.
“It’s a big step for me especially, because I didn’t do marching band in high school,” said Bragg, who is a human services and counseling major. “It’s so much different, and it feels really great. I feel the connection with all of the people here, and I’m looking forward to all of the prospects.”
It’s even more special for Bragg to be a member in the Blue Raider Band because his late great-grandfather Doug Moseley was a legendary Lindsey Wilson professor and administrator.
“I think my great-grandfather would be proud to see all of this,” he said. “In my heart, it’s dedicated to him.”
As Palmer said, students such as Braff, Dugger, Morrow and the other student musicians will be the ones who define the Blue Raider Band’s new era.
“The history of the band program is going to be written by the students who participate in it, not by the band director,” he said.
Lindsey Wilson University Director of Bands Robert Palmer conducts the Blue Raider Band during a brief noon concert during move-in day on Saturday, Aug. 23. The Blue Raider Band will make its 2025 halftime debut at the Thursday, Aug. 28, Lindsey Wilson-Texas Wesleyan University 6 p.m. CT game at Parnell Family Stadium.
Lindsey Wilson University Director of Bands Robert Palmer leads the Blue Raider Band across campus during move-in day on Saturday, Aug. 23. The Blue Raider Band will make its 2025 halftime debut at the Thursday, Aug. 28, Lindsey Wilson-Texas Wesleyan University 6 p.m. CT game at Parnell Family Stadium.
The Lindsey Wilson University Blue Raider Band will make its 2025 halftime debut at the Thursday, Aug. 28, Lindsey Wilson-Texas Wesleyan University 6 p.m. CT game at Parnell Family Stadium.
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university’s 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
(Duane Bonifer – Lindsey Wilson University)