Nothing sounds quite like black college bands – even in the rain.

Despite a driving downpour, last year’s Queen City Battle of the Bands rocked on before a packed house at Memorial Stadium. This year’s showcase will take the field August 26 at 7 p.m., featuring some of the nation’s best college bands Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the showcase.

Advance tickets can be bought at www.crowntickets.com or by calling 1-888-547-6478. A College Fair will be held 3-5 p.m. at the Grady Cole Center, Doors open at 5 p.m., with pre-show at 6:30 p.m.

“To be honest, we were very blessed last year to have the amount of people we had with the rain,” QCBB founder Derek Webber said. “It shows the interest the community has in HBCUs and marching bands and supporting the event that donates scholarship money back to the universities. It’s a great testimony to what we’re doing and what we will continue to do to enhance the exposure of our HBCUs and marching bands.”

The 2017 lineup includes in-state rivals N.C. A&T State, N.C. Central and Winston-Salem State universities as well as out-of-state newcomers. The goal is to widen the QCBB’s reach and expose fans to bands they may not have seen in person.  

“The new schools this year are Alabama State, which is a first-time appearance coming from Montgomery and we also have Norfolk State University coming out of Virginia, which is a first-time appearance,” Webber said. “We’re excited about the lineup and the new bands we’re bringing to the market and continue to create a new show every year that’s energetic and something for the whole family to enjoy.”

HBCU bands have long been noted for their showmanship and music. A&T, which has the oldest HBCU program in North Carolina, launched its band in 1918 with 50 musicians, but the Blue and Gold Marching Machine hardly alone in halftime pageantry – or nicknames. NCCU’s Marching Sound Machine and Red Sea of Sound are fan favorites, as is Talladega College’s Marching Tornadoes, which participated in January’s presidential inauguration parade in Washington and is making its fourth appearance in Charlotte.

“We don’t have a short of bands that want to be at this event,” Webber said. “We have a long list of bands who want to continue to come. It’s just a matter of funding to get them here.”

Black college bands are known for their integration of intricate marching formations and cadences that set them apart from the military corps-style processions at most historically white schools. Although most bands are seen during halftime of football games, the QCBB is three hours of nonstop pageantry and an integral part of black college life.

“The way we get rolling and the energy with the bands and what they bring …it’s hard to sit down because of the positive energy that is going around,” Webber said.

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