Honda Battle of the Bands


The Honda Battle of the Bands is an annual marching band exhibition in the United States which features performances by bands from historically black colleges and universities. Sponsored by the American Honda Motor Company, the Invitational Showcase takes place in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia in late January.
The Honda Battle of the Bands Celebration Tour takes place between the months of September and November at regular season football games, although Honda Battle of the Bands is often intended to refer only to the invitational showcase, which first took place in 2003. Seemingly contradictory to the name, Honda's "battle" is not a competition in the traditional sense; that is, no winner is crowned during the event. Rather, the bands compete for the favor of the audience, each other, and the greater community.
The event is the most popular collegiate marching band event in the nation, drawing over 50,000 fans and spectators annually.

Participation

The Honda Battle of the Bands program includes two components — the Voting Process, which runs September through October, and the "Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase".
Voting:
The first band will be selected by popular vote.
The next three bands will be selected, one from each category by a weighted vote of 1/3 from institution president, band director and online opinion poll from category I, II and III. The categories being 128 instruments or less, 129 instruments up to 160 and 161 or more. This count is total instrument count, no auxiliaries, drum majors, etc. but will include percussion.
Note: Presidents and Band Directors are not permitted to vote for their own institutions.
American Honda and Urban Sports & Entertainment Group will select the final four bands based on, but not limited to:
Once all the votes are tallied, a total of 8 bands are invited to perform their carefully choreographed, halftime time routines in front of 50,000+ fans.

History

Started in 2003, the Honda Battle of the Bands was created to celebrate, support and recognize the excellence of Black college marching bands and the unique academic experience offered by Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Honda annually awards more than $205,000 in grants to participating marching bands during the program period and facilitates a HBCU recruitment fair preceding the band showcase.
The following HBCUs have participated in the Honda Invitational Showcase:
YearCIAAMEACSIACSWACIndependents
2003Johnson C. SmithFlorida A&MClark Atlanta, Morehouse, TuskegeeGramblingMorris Brown, Tennessee State
2004Johnson C. Smith, Virginia StateBethune-Cookman, Florida A&MClark Atlanta, TuskegeeAlabama State, Prairie View A&MSavannah State, Tennessee State
2005North Carolina Central, Virginia StateBethune-Cookman, Florida A&MClark Atlanta, TuskegeeAlabama A&M, Prairie View A&MLangston, Savannah State
2006North Carolina Central, Virginia StateBethune-Cookman, Florida A&MClark Atlanta, TuskegeeJackson State, Prairie View A&MCentral State, Langston
2007NC Central, Virginia StateBethune-Cookman, Norfolk StateAlbany State, Clark AtlantaAlabama State, Prairie View A&MCentral State, Langston
2008Virginia State, ShawBethune-Cookman, Norfolk StateAlbany State, TuskegeeTexas Southern, Arkansas–Pine BluffNorth Carolina Central, Winston-Salem State
2009Fayetteville State, Virginia StateFlorida A&M, North Carolina A&TKentucky State, TuskegeeJackson State, Texas SouthernEdward Waters, North Carolina Central
2010Virginia StateFlorida A&MAlbany State, Clark Atlanta, TuskegeePrairie View A&M, SouthernNorth Carolina Central
2011Virginia State, Winston-Salem StateBethune-Cookman, South Carolina StateAlbany State, Clark AtlantaJackson StateTennessee State
2012Virginia State, Winston-Salem StateBethune-Cookman, South Carolina StateAlbany StateJackson State, Prairie View A&MTennessee State
2013Winston-Salem StateBethune-Cookman, North Carolina A&TAlbany StateAlcorn State, Jackson StateEdward Waters, Tennessee State
2014Winston-Salem StateBethune-Cookman, North Carolina A&T, South Carolina StateMorehouseAlabama State, Alabama A&M, Arkansas–Pine BluffNone
2015NoneBethune-Cookman, North Carolina A&T, HowardNoneAlabama State, Jackson State, SouthernTalladega, Tennessee State
2016Lincoln Bethune-Cookman, South Carolina StateNoneAlabama A&M, Alcorn State, Jackson State, Prairie View A&MTennessee State
2017Winston-Salem StateBethune-Cookman, North Carolina A&TBenedict CollegeAlabama A&M, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Texas SouthernNone
2018NoneBethune-Cookman, North Carolina A&T, HamptonMiles CollegeAlabama A&M, Alabama State, Prairie View A&MTennessee State
2020NoneFlorida A&M, North Carolina A&TBenedict CollegeJackson State, Grambling State, Prairie View A&MHampton, Tennessee State

In 2018, Honda announced that the Battle of the Bands would be on a one-year hiatus in 2019, due to Super Bowl LIII being held in Atlanta. The event resumed in 2020.
In 2020, Honda announced the Battle of the Bands will be on a one-year hiatus in 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trivia