Black marching bands will head to Southern California for annual show

There’s nothing quite like watching a historically Black college’s marching band rouse a crowd during halftime — except, perhaps, six HBCU marching bands performing back to back.

Last year, Alabama State University hosted the Honda Battle of the Bands, making it the first college to host the event on campus. The next show is scheduled for Feb. 1, 2025, at SoFi Stadium, bringing the event to California for the first time, and tickets are now available.

“It’s big for HBCUs, not just ASU, to get on that particular platform and to have that type of audience where it’s all bands,” said James Oliver, the director of bands at Alabama State. “It’s not football, it’s not soccer, it’s not baseball, it’s not anything with athletes, it’s all bands.”

Southern California will get something it has “never seen before,” Oliver said. “The bands in the south and over in the east part are entertaining bands. That’s what we do: We entertain our audience.”

This annual show has become folded into HBCU culture since it began in 2002. The event is part of a 35-year commitment from the automaker to invest in HBCUs because of their economic impact on Black people and communities.

“Supporting society is more of an ecosystem,” said Yvette Hunsicker, vice president of corporate social responsibility and inclusion and diversity at Honda. “You have to get to the root cause to shift trajectories. We need to meet people where they are and give them the opportunity for different outcomes.”

Honda also provides support to students beyond the stage through the Battle of the Bands and its partnership with Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Through Honda’s “Drive the Legacy” initiative launched in January, the company extends educational and career opportunities to some HBCU students.

This year, Honda pledged a $500,000 commitment to HBCU band scholarships through its partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Honda’s “main thing is to help HBCU students,” Oliver said. “For me to be that close to what they were doing and what they were thinking about and the interviews that I had a chance to do because I was with them, it was amazing. So they are a part of my students’ career.”

For more from NBC BLK, sign up for our weekly newsletter.