The Tennessee State University Aristocrat of Bands traveled to Atlanta, Ga. last week for the 10th annual Honda Battle of the Bands invitational Showcase. It was the fourth trip for the band. They participated in the first two events in 2003 and 2004, and returned last year and this year. The band was among eight from our nation’s HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities) to put their marching and musical talents on display, along with their amazing dance moves and electrifying drum major and majorette routines.

The long weekend began with practice in the Georgia Dome on Thursday, after leaving campus at 6 am, followed by check-in at the Atlanta Hilton and late lunch at the CNN Center. Friday began early with a trip back the Dome for practices, and a trip to Tri-Cities High School to perform for the students there. That evening the traditional formal Honda Dinner was held at the Georgia World Congress Center, attended by all eight bands and their staffs, with a buffet dinner and dancing.

Saturday began with an 8 am check out and morning practice at the Dome. After lunch, final preparations preceded the 3 pm start of ‘The Super Bowl of Marching Bands.’

The four hour long program began with a PeeWee football demonstration, Greek fraternity step routines by Alphas, Kappas, and Omegas, and a rousing rendition of the ‘Black National Anthem’ and the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ by three young ladies. Then it was showtime!

The show kicked off with a ‘drumline’ event featuring percussion ensembles from all eight bands in the inverse order their bands would perform during the Showcase. Each drumline put on a two-minute drill accompanied by their drum majors. Yes, TSU took house!

John Silvanus Wilson, the executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs represented President Barack Obama, and brought greetings from his boss, specifically noting his support for HBCUs and his well-known love of music—as exemplified by his recent singing of an Al Green tune at a recent political event. Wilson brought a special shout out from President Obama to three of the 2,000 band students, two of whom were TSU drum majors Troy Lambert and Austin Hylick.

Jackson State, Virginia State, South Carolina State and Albany State then performed. R&B soul singer Monica put on a brief set, then the final four took the field: Winston-Salem State, TSU, Prairie View and Bethune Cookman. Each band was allotted 12 minutes to perform a field show, and most stayed within their time limit. South Carolina State, a fan favorite with their 20-minute show highlighted by the legendary Lenny Williams singing ‘I Love You,’ won the popular text-in vote. The finale was a ‘mass band medley’ performed by all eight bands, 2000 musicians, with all of their majorettes dancing along.   

You can view the TSU Band, the drumline, and the mass band performances at: <www.youtube.com/cassfl>. Each school received a check from Honda for $20,000 toward general scholarship in addition to their trip expenses.