New Iberia Senior High School will host the Concorde Blue Devils, a 100-plus member drum corps, who will be rehearsing on the NISH practice fields during the day Monday and will perform before leaving Monday afternoon.

"We're not sure exactly what time they will perform the full show, but we think it'll be between 1 and 2," said Buddy Delahoussaye, president of the NISH Band Boosters.

The group will be arriving at the high school during the early morning hours Monday. They will grab a few hours of sleep - probably in the school gymnasium - then will hit the field for rehearsal.

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"They're supposed to perform in Baton Rouge at around 4 p.m., so they'll probably be leaving here between 2:30 and 3," Delahoussaye said.

Curt Landry, principal, invited all area band members and "anyone interested in music" to come out to the school's practice fields and watch the group as they go through their drills.

"We hope that a lot of people can be here for the show performance," Landry added. "This is a very exciting group.

What is a drum corps?

Modern junior drum and bugle corps ("drum corps" for short) are independent youth organizations made up of up to 135 14- to 22-year-olds who spend the summer rehearsing and performing an 11-minute show in which they play a variety of horns or percussion instruments, or spin flags, rifles, sabres, and other implements, all while marching around a football field.

It resembles a marching band with certain key differences. There are no woodwinds (clarinets, flutes, etc.) and a few of the brass instruments are constructed slightly differently from those you'd see on a local football field on any given Friday night in the fall.

The intensity level is much higher in drum corps, and the difficulty level of the show is much higher.

Drum corps members spend three to four weeks in everyday rehearsals and eight weeks on tour, doing nothing but drum corps, day in and day out. They even pay for the privilege.

Members generally have to pass an often-rigorous and selective audition process to be admitted to membership to a specific corps. Finally - and importantly - drum corps are, with a few exceptions, not affiliated with a school or university.

The Blue Devils have been members of the prestigious Drum corps International (DCI) since 1973. Membership in DCI is a status given to only the top 25 groups in the nation.