Memorial Stadium will become a musical battlefield next weekend for the Selma High School Marching Saints’ 2017 Central Alabama Battle of the Bands.

The competition, which is scheduled for Oct. 21 at noon, will feature around 20 different bands from Alabama and the surrounding states. Band director Brandon Williams said bands from Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee have entered the fray.

“We have bands that are coming from everywhere,” he said. “We’re right at 19 to 20 bands not including Concordia College Alabama or Alabama State University, who will also be in attendance.”

Williams said seeing CCA and ASU perform, as well as the Honeybees, will be a treat for the fans.

“They’re never going to forget it,” Williams said. “They’re going to have a good time if they come out, and that’s the only thing I want. Whenever we put an event on, we want people to come out and have a great time.”

Selma High School will not compete in the competition because they are the hosting band, but they will perform.

The Battle of the Bands is the Marching Saints’ biggest fundraiser of the year. Williams said traditionally it has brought in around $10,000.

“The main priority for the fundraiser is to finish what we started in the first place,” Williams said.

“Cornerstone Presbyterian Church and Big River Car Wash started us down a path to get new uniforms. They had two fundraisers for us, and, of course, we didn’t reach our total goal for those two fundraisers, so this fundraiser right here should help us surpass that goal.”

After the fundraisers by Cornerstone and Big River, Williams said they were around $5,000 short of being able to buy new uniforms. The band was able to purchase new uniforms two to three years ago, but there are not enough to go around.

“The uniforms that we have now, a lot of them are new, but we don’t have enough for everybody,” Williams said. “My percussion section is still wearing old uniforms.”

Williams said the band is thankful for all the help they have had in the endeavor and is hoping for even more next Saturday.

“We’ve got all the bands coming. Now, the only thing we’re lacking now is the people,” he said. “The ultimate goal for me is just to see the whole stadium packed with people enjoying themselves and kids listening and dancing to the different bands.”

The bands will be judged on several different categories, including drum majors, percussion, majorettes, flag line, dance line and, of course, the band. Williams said no band takes the competition lightly and they are all in it to win it.

“To see the bands competing against one another and everybody wondering who is going to be the grand champion or who is going to receive the mayor’s cup … it makes it all worth it,” Williams said.

Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the gate. Children ages 10 and under are $5.