Savannah Banana Band Visits Camp Grandview

As the Camp Grandview chapel doors swung open, blasting brass and booming bass ricocheted through the room. The Savannah Banana Band quickly followed the music, marching in and prompting excited screams from the students of the Kimball-Meeks Conservatory.

Led by group trumpet player Nick McGouirk, the Banana Band made their way around the chapel in practiced formation, weaving in and out of the rows of thrilled campers and staff.

How the Banana Band ended up in a Salvation Army camp chapel on that July day is both extraordinary and unbelievably simple.

For the past several years, Georgia Divisional Music and Arts Director Daniel Meeks, with the help of one of his long-time friends, Oluwatito Osibodu, has recruited Georgia Southern University students to work at camp for the summer. One of those recruits was McGouirk, who worked on conservatory staff at Camp Grandview from 2022-2024.

After graduating from Georgia Southern, McGouirk found his way to the Banana Band, the high-energy marching band-style group that performs as part of the Savannah Bananas’ baseball show. The band plays throughout the games, helping keep the atmosphere lively through music, crowd interaction, and nonstop entertainment.

During this year’s summer conservatory staff hiring process, Skye Bussey, divisional assistant music and arts director, reached out to McGouirk about conservatory staff and recruitment. Instead of suggesting people to work, he had another way to contribute to camp this summer: introducing the Banana Band to the campers.

The Savannah Banana Band spent all day with the conservatory staff and campers, performing in the chapel, hosting a Q&A session, and helping students in their brass major classes.

During the Q&A, band members expressed how they all came from different walks of life and didn’t expect to find themselves where they are today. One thing they all had in common was their passion for music. “We always pursued music and never gave up on the thing that we loved, and eventually, life finds a way,” McGouirk explained to the children.

The band also hosted an improvisation class for advanced campers where students were given a specific set of notes that they could put in any order they wanted. “They went around the room and had kids each play a solo,” Meeks explains. “Some were nervous, some were scared, but that goes on to build their confidence.”

“This is one of the most impactful things I’ve ever done in my life,” McGouirk says of his experience at camp, “the way that I can reach community and children especially.”

The band later surprised the rest of Camp Grandview’s staff and campers at the evening program, spreading the joy beyond just the conservatory.

By the end of the night, the Banana Band had done more than just entertain; they had shown campers that even through different walks and the unpredictability of life, music can bring a constant source of joy and purpose.

And for the conservatory campers, seeing McGouirk marching around a chapel he himself worked in just a few summers ago was proof that music, effort, and commitment can take them places far beyond their expectations.