The business behind HBCU marching bands

The big HBCU marching bands we see today — from Norfolk State in Virginia, Florida A&M and Jackson State in Mississippi all the way to Prairie View A&M University in Texas — stem from a style dating back to the ’40s. Their performances are known for musical excellence, flair, crowd engagement and use of modern songs. 

“For every first-time viewer of [a historically Black college or university] band that I’ve gotten to speak with, I’d say 99 out of 100 of them were in absolute awe,” said Timmey Zachery, director of bands at Prairie View. “They had no idea that what we were able to do could be done.”

That sense of awe is marketable. “Being synchronized with 360 people and have them turn on a dime in 10 seconds and go a different direction together, that says something about those individuals. It says something about that institution.”

Prairie View freshman Luz Guzman knew she wanted to join the band after seeing it perform at the 2019 National Battle of the Bands in Houston. “There was a band playing, and PV just was like, ‘OK, this is enough. Y’all keep on playing it for, like, the past five minutes,’ and they just played on top of them. Honestly, I got chills,” she said. 

The Marching Storm at Prairie View delivers nothing but the best, despite a major lack of resources. For more about the Marching Storm and the power of HBCU bands, click the audio player above.