Reprinted from the Prairie View A&M University website
by Tyra Metoyer
(Prairie View)—In front of a sold-out crowd of music lovers, supporters and fans in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, the Prairie View A&M University marching band and the Black Foxes dance team performed in the invitational Honda Battle of the Bands competition on Jan. 27. The band was one of two universities representing the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The Marching Storm, along with 2,000-plus other college performers, will be featured on the first-ever Honda Battle of the Bands DVD, which will be produced and released by Honda. Proceeds from the DVD sales will benefit each participating school’s music program.
“I’m very proud of our students and they should be proud of their performance. Our students went to get things done. They practiced on their own and gave 110 percent to get the performance done and to represent the university well,” said Marching Storm Band Director George Edwards, affectionately know as “Prof. Edwards.”
“I want the university at large to know that they should be proud of the Marching Storm,” he said.
The band performed Earth, Wind and Fire’s “Can’t Let Go,” “Spend My Life with You,” recorded by Eric Benet and Tamia, “Conga” by Gloria Estefan and a variety of other popular R&B and pop tunes.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase, the largest and only national scholarship program to showcase the showmanship of black college bands. Bands were invited to participate based on online voting tabulations from the Honda Battle of the Bands website, a Honda selection committee and a team of both college and university band directors and presidents.
Each of the selected 10 bands that participated will receive travel expenses and $11,000 for band scholarships.
Participating colleges and universities were:
