A deafening roar erupts as the Pacific Partnership Band plays the first bars of classic Papua New Guinean pop song Mt Lemina.
Students at Lae Secondary School start dancing in front of the stage while a crowd of about 2000 children sing along.
On stage, United States Navy Musician 3rd Class Damian Chambers belts out the tune with a flamboyance and vocal range reminiscent of his Broadway experience.
He is joined by Musician Miella Sartori, the band's Australian Army vocalist.
Throughout their show, the pair sing harmonies and run into the audience, turning the entire venue into a stage.
"We bounce off each other really well. It's like joy on steroids," Musician Sartori said.
Their matching wavelengths create an energy loop, first between themselves, then with the audience.
For Musicians Sartori and Chambers, it is about letting their personalities shine through without choreographed routines.
"The best bit is being spontaneous. You see an opportunity and you take it," Musician Sartori said.
"You think: 'I'm going to run a lap around in the middle of my song, high-fiving everyone' - and you do it."
The performance was a culmination of the band's six-hour-a-day rehearsals aboard USS Pearl Harbor during a two-week transit from Hawaii.
After arriving in Lae, they performed a series of radio shows but were thrown a curve ball after arriving at one and told to play only Amazing Grace.
Musician Sartori had never sung it before, and they were joined by Mariko Simizu, a singer from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, who only spoke Japanese.
But in about 10 minutes they had rehearsed a version and were ready to perform.
'We've got a lot of fun coming up. This is the pinnacle of my job. It's the best experience there is.'
Each vocalist sang a verse, with one in Japanese, and they all harmonised for the final chorus.
"We could communicate musically and be on the same page without speaking a lick of English," Musician Sartori said.
Musician Simizu, a classically trained opera singer, also joined the band on stage for performances in Lae - making for a vibrant mix with Musicians Sartori and Chambers, who sing a contemporary style.
"It's been really cool to collaborate with her and meet in the middle and create something really special," Musician Sartori said.
But performing was not what Musician Sartori wanted to do when she started singing lessons at age eight.
Debilitating shyness and anxiety had her breaking down in tears the first few times she tried.
Eventually she fell in love with performing, appearing in musicals and dance groups before joining the Army at 18 - where she first sang with a band.
Musician Sartori says she is an introvert but her energetic performances are not an alter-ego, instead they are a version of who she is.
"A part of me comes out when I'm performing that I don't normally showcase in my everyday life," she said.
"I really love creating experiences for people; putting a lot of effort in and seeing the reward. When the audience really love it, that's all that matters."
Apart from Musician Sartori, most band members are from the US Pacific Fleet Band, along with three Canadians in the horn section.
During the next five months they will be pulling alongside to play in Guam, Micronesia and Samoa, enhancing Pacific Partnership 2025's mission through community outreach.
"The fact we're already having such a good response from our audience is really promising," Musician Sartori said.
"We've got a lot of fun coming up. This is the pinnacle of my job. It's the best experience there is."
