Promoters often call the Honda Battle of the Bands the Super Bowl for marching bands at historically black colleges and universities.
If that's the case then Winston-Salem State University's Red Sea of Sound is starting to resemble the New England Patriots.
WSSU's band will perform in the prestigious band showcase today, marking its third appearance since 2008. About 60,000 people are expected to attend the show at Atlanta's Georgia Dome.
Eight bands from a field of 48 were chosen to participate in what has come to be known simply as The Honda. Fans, band directors and college presidents voted for the bands they think have demonstrated the best creativity and musicianship over the course of the football season. WSSU is the only band from North Carolina picked for this year's Honda.
The trip to Atlanta will be a sweet payoff for Scott Tomberlin, a trumpet player who carefully vetted WSSU's band program last year while deciding which college to attend.
"I heard from him every week," band director Michael Magruder said with a laugh. "He was very enthusiastic and wanted every concern addressed."
Tomberlin, a freshman from Concord, was used to a "corps" style of marching, as opposed to a "show" style of marching favored by historically black colleges and universities. One distinctive difference: show-style marchers bringing their knees to 90-degree angles with their toes pointed to the ground.
The presentation is also flashier, with more dance movements, something that initially made Tomberlin nervous.
"I have grown to love it," he said. "It's a lot of fun."
Tomberlin and the band's other 159 members will need to bust out their best moves. Though The Honda is not a competition, it will be clear from the audience's response which band performs at the highest level, said Magruder, who is in his eighth year as band director.
At today's show, the band is performing a new 12-minute routine. Band members returned from winter break a week earlier than the rest of the students to rehearse and perfect their routine and have been practicing up to four hours a day since classes resumed.
"It's going to be high-powered, energetic and show-stopping," Magruder said. "If you miss this, you have missed a treat. The kids are really ready to show what they've been doing."
WSSU's band will be among the smallest at The Honda, whose field also includes such well-known historically black college bands as Bethune-Cookman's Marching Wildcats, which has more than 300 members.
Tomberlin said he and his bandmates are undaunted.
"We want to be the loudest and best band there," he said. "When we march off, we want to have nothing less than a standing ovation and to be the talk of the town."
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