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Mason Lombardo

@mlom977

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UCONN ‘29
HCBass

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If that Onion Ring, I’m picking up
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#larp by @mlom977

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11 days ago

Sometimes in life things fall into place perfectly. 80 years of history and hard work all led up to this summer being what it was: perfect.

A season is never about a number, but rather your growth and reaching potential. Success is when preparation and luck come to a head, and that’s exactly what happened at finals. We worked our asses off, and at finals, when it mattered most, we delivered — and there’s some luck to that.

To the battery: You’re all killers. Coming back to Hawthorne for a 2nd season is the best thing I could have ever done, and it’s because of you all. Your dedication and drive to this show was inspiring and an honor to be a part of. I love you all and look forward to seeing you soon.

To my staff, Mark, Hannah, Ryan, and Tristan: You are the reason I wanted to be a Caballero again. While at points in the season I absolutely hated many of you, I can without a doubt say you’ve had profound impacts on me as a musician and a person. Thank you.

As I reflect on this season, I count it among the hardest things I have ever endured. But the longer I sat with it, the clearer the truth became. The mountain was never the season itself. The mountain was myself, and that was the summit I had to conquer.

I love being a Caballero.
HCBass Vs. The World.
2026 Cabs | 2nd Place | High Percussion 19.5 taken in Hawthorne, New Jersey by @mlom977

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2 months ago

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” - Sun Tzu

Every season sets out with the same goal: make finals. Setting goals early and having standards is important; they can serve as a light or a driving force to the end of the season. But when these goals are missed, it’s easy to write off a season as a failure. From these emotions is where you find what success truly means.

Successful seasons can’t be defined by a score sheet or a number, but rather by your growth. Coming into this season as a vet, I wasn’t really sure what that role looked like. Ending last season, my goal was just to do my job, but this season it was a much larger shift to growth rather than survival.

Despite all of this, I am incredibly proud of this bassline and ensemble. We worked our asses off, persevered through a lot, and even after coming up short, we had the time of our lives. That truly is what defines a season as a “success.”

Thank you, UP2 2026. I love you all. Don’t be a stranger—see you on the other side. taken in Semi-finals by @mlom977

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6 months ago

Hawthorne Caballeros 2025
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This is about to be a lot, but genuinely the most heart felt things I’ve ever posted about the marching arts.

This season with cabs has taught me so many lessons that I don’t even know where to begin. Obviously I could talk about how I feel I’ve improved as a musician, member or even person. But the thing that I take away with me after this season is the people, the friendships, and the memories.

This group has by far been one of the tightest knit, funniest, and most family like that’s I’ve even been apart of. Coming into this it was a little intimidating wondering how I’d be accepted into this family or if I would? But once I was, it became the best experience I’ve ever had in the marching arts! The pure friendship and care shown by every member of the battery, percussion section and full corps made me instantly feel at home.

On top of all that, this was by far the highest level percussion section I’ve been apart of. The professionalism of the staff made me instantly better as they always had something to say to make me better. On top of this having peers in the bass line with vast knowledge made learning a natural occurrence that happened every time we met.

These standards now embedded into me will change how I go about my business in the future for the better not only making me a better musician, but better in whatever life throws my way. Life threw a lot my way through this season, and I’m happy to say that cabs was always the constant. Knowing that no matter how my week was or whatever crap came my way I always had this bass line, this battery, and this corps to lean on gave me an overwhelming sense of safety.

If you’ve read this far, I assume you were apart of the journey this summer. Thank you all for your contribution to my summer, and truly making me feel like a brother. I love all of you, don’t be a stranger and reach out if you need anything at all. taken in Hawthorne, New Jersey by @mlom977

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a year ago

WGI Finals 2025 ✅
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From freshman year getting preliminated in PSA to Senior year making finals in PIO this 4 years of the marching arts has taught me more about myself then any other aspect of my life. From seeing UP2 freshman year to competing with them as a senior shows me that I truly am capable of chasing a goal and achieving it. While this has been the single hardest indoor season I’ve ever done, it has also been the most rewarding. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to do it with, you all took me in as family and treated me as a brother. To the staff, thank you for pushing me to be a better musician as well as person every time I was at United. As I move into this summers drum corps season, I hope to see all of you around and at shows to catch up. This season at UP2 will always hold a special place in my heart for what we accomplished, for the last time…

GIVE EM THE BUSINESS 🆙 by @mlom977

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2 years ago