Baldwinsville Marching Bees set for Bills-Jets halftime show, launch fundraiser

Baldwinsville’s Marching Bees will get a halftime stage at the Buffalo Bills-New York Jets game at MetLife Stadium, giving 105 student musicians from grades 7 through 12 a rare spotlight far beyond Central New York. The district is moving quickly to line up fundraising, because the trip will bring real costs for transportation, lodging and participation, not just the thrill of the performance.

The Baldwinsville Central School District said it will launch several fundraising initiatives over the coming months and is asking for help from community members, local businesses, alumni and other supporters. That support matters because the band’s trip will require more than a bus ride: instruments, uniforms, meals, lodging and other logistics will all have to be covered before the students ever step onto the field.

The setting adds to the scale of the moment. MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is the home of the Jets and Giants and has a capacity of 82,500. The Buffalo Bills’ official 2026 schedule lists the Nov. 15 game as a Week 10 road matchup at the Jets, putting Baldwinsville’s halftime show in front of a national football audience.

For Baldwinsville, the performance fits into a long marching-band tradition that has already reached major stages. The Marching Bees performed in the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena on Jan. 1, 2020, and the program has competed and performed across the United States since 1974, with the Baldwinsville Marching Band Boosters backing the effort for decades.

District leaders said more than 50 adults support the marching band, including 18 staff members and 25 parent volunteers, underscoring how much work sits behind a show of this size. Superintendent Dr. Joseph DeBarbieri and Marching Band Director Tim Moshier both pointed to the trip as more than a football-game appearance, describing it as the kind of experience that can stay with students long after the final note. For Baldwinsville families, the challenge now is turning that opportunity into a funded trip that sends the Marching Bees to one of the biggest stages in the NFL.