‘Becoming American culture.’ At the 2024 OBC Battle of the Bands, HBCU culture shines
It could be heard the moment you stepped foot on University of Miami campus.
The belting brass section. The thunderous drums. The crash of the cymbals.
To the average passerby, it might have sounded like the UM marching band was having a Saturday practice. But those cymbals, those drums, those trumpets had a little too much soul. No, that sound could only come from one place: a Black band.
The Orange Blossom Classic hosted its fourth annual Battle of the Bands, an event that pitted North Carolina Central’s Marching Sound Machine against Alabama State’s Mighty Marching Hornets but also showcased high schools bands – namely Everglades High, Miami Carol City, Dillard and Palm Beach Lakes – across South Florida. Saturday, however, didn’t have a winner – that will be decided when ASU and NCCU kickoff the main event 3 p.m. Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.
“Just seeing that MEAC-SWAC tension increase before the big game tomorrow, ,” said NCCU alum Leon Rouson, referring the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference, which NCCU and ASU belong to respectively. “It was a very great experience.
Saturday’s festivities had it all. The trash talk (“Any high school students out there, just know North Carolina Central University is made for you!” the NCCU announcer screamed as the band performed a rendition of Muni Long’s “Made for You.” When the Mighty Marching Hornets came out, the ASU’s announcer screamed “If you think NCCU is going to win tomorrow, you’re talking out the side of your neck.”). The music (Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” was a favorite among all the bands). The dancing (the drum major did a move where his back was both parallel to and inches from the floor).
“I think the band’s performance today gave high school students in this region a quick glimpse of Eagle excellence, of North Carolina Central University through the Sound Machine,” NCCU deputy direct of admissions Michael A. Bailey said.
Added Rouson: “The energy, the excitement, the culture was displayed in a very big way.”
For the students who traveled from all the way from Durham, North Carolina or Montgomery, Alabama, the experience was particularly noteworthy.
“It’s exciting to be in Miami,” Mighty Marching Hornets band director James Oliver said. “A lot of time these guys don’t get a chance to travel. In high school, they might go around the city but at the collegiate level, we do bigger trips. This will be a time they’ll probably never forget.”
With the event taking place Saturday evening in Coral Gables, it’s difficult not to think about the history of the neighborhood. Founded in 1925, there was once a time when the majority of the very people who attended the battle weren’t even allowed to be there after sunset. Even UM used to be racially segregated, thus necessitating the inception of institutions like NCCU and ASU. It’s why the event felt more like an extended family barbecue – minus the food, of course – than a normal Watsco Center concert.
“Right now — Black, White, Latino — it doesn’t matter to the new generation,” Oliver said. “We got Black kids in the band. We got Hispanics in the band. I think that is where we need to go now. It’s all about coming together as a family, as a group of individuals and living a good life and understanding that, not liking Black or not liking white, that’s just out. It’s timeout for that now. This generation is different and they’re the ones that’s going to take this country to another level.”
And to Oliver’s point, HBCU band culture has already gone global. Just ask Florida Memorial’s ROAR Marching Band, which performed at the 2023 Festival des Bandafolie’s on the outskirts of Paris.
“It’s the kind of tradition that everyone can get into, not necessarily African Americans,” Rouson said. “A lot of our bands are more diverse now so it’s not just African American culture but I think it’s becoming American culture and college culture. I’ve also noticed a lot of predominately white institutions who play some of the songs and beats and rhythms of HBCUs. But that’s ok. It means that the culture is spreading.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2024 at 11:34 AM.
