For the first time since the Honda Battle of the Bands competition was created, the crowd decided on an official winner via text message. The Blue and Gold Marching Machine of North Carolina A&T State University took home the title.
Thousands gathered Saturday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for the 12th annual HBOB, as it was called. Hosted by local radio personality Ryan Cameron, HBOB is a competition among bands from Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the South. Schools were voted into the competition by their peers.
This year’s competitors were Winston-Salem State, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, South Carolina State, Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T, Bethune-Cookman, Alabama State and Alabama A&M. The Marching Maroon Tigers of Morehouse College opened the competition. Renowned band director Cleopas Johnson was this year’s honoree.
Although the crowd was noticeably smaller than previous years, those who attended got to enjoy a performance by Big Sean.
In an impromptu, post-performance interview, Big Sean said that he’s been in the studio and shooting videos. He also noted that G.O.O.D. Music is working on “something big.”
Some of the highlights of this year’s Battle of the Bands competition were University of Arkansas Pine Bluff’s electrifying performance of “Clappers” by Wale and South Carolina State’s tribute to Nelson Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
-Erika Benton-Martin (@leftcoast_rika)
