Cavalcade of Bands

Cavalcade of Bands
Abbreviation	CoB, CMB
Established	1958;67 years ago
Founder	Arlen R. Saylor
Type	501(c)(3) organization
Tax ID no.	23-3068775
Legal status	Active
Region	Mid-Atlantic, U.S.
Membership	94 bands (2025)
President	Adam Nobile; (Big Spring HS)
CEO	Justin McAdams
Judging Coordinator	John Keane
Parent organization	Cavalcade of Bands Association, Inc.
Revenue	US$189,000 (2024)
Expenses	US$177,000 (2024)
Website	cavalcadeofbands.com

Last updated November 12, 2025

The Cavalcade of Bands is one of many competitive band organizations in the United States and is one of several major circuits in the mid-Atlantic states (other circuits include Tournament of Bands and USBands). Cavalcade was founded in the late 1958 by the members of the Mid-Atlantic Judges Association and its member high schools. The organization currently has over 145 member schools. It provides competitive performance opportunities for marching bands and jazz ensembles. Cavalcade sanctions approximately 42 field band events as well as about 25 jazz ensemble events annually.

Marching Band

The Cavalcade of Bands sanctions about 42 high school marching band competitions throughout each fall from September to mid-November. Bands are judged on a 100-point linear scale by judges both on the field and in the press box. Bands are placed into one of five classes based on their size, and judged only within their class.^[1]

The five classes are:

Independence (0-35 members)
American (36-50 members)
Liberty (51-70 members)
Yankee (71-95 members)
Patriot (96+ members)

During championship week, bands are divided once more within their class based on their average score throughout the season. Bands with the higher scores are placed into the "Open" division and bands with the lower scores are placed into the "A" division.

On January 1, 2019, the Cavalcade of Bands Honor Band performed in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. The band included over 100 students from 20 high schools in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Indoor activities

Cavalcade of Bands has discontinued indoor activities (winter guard, dance, percussion ensemble and indoor marching bands) in 2019.^[2] Prior to the COB's reorganization the early 2000s, the indoor season was organized by the independent Cavalcade Indoor Drill Association (CIDA), later known as Cavalcade Indoor (CIA).

Past champions

Open Class (1959–present)

The first Cavalcade of Bands Championships were hosted in 1970 at the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Prior to 1970, members would designate a competition in October or November as the de facto championship event, but not all member bands would attend. Champions from 1959 to 1969 were included in lists of Open Class Champions after 1970.

Year	—	—	—	Yankee	—
1959 (—)				Boyertown ⁽¹⁾
1960 (—)				Wilson Boro ⁽¹⁾
1961 (—)				Lebanon
1962 (—)				Wilson Boro ⁽²⁾
1963 (—)				Boyertown ⁽²⁾
1964 (—)				Boyertown ⁽³⁾
1965 (—)				Wilson ⁽¹⁾
1966 (—)				Wilson ⁽²⁾
1967 (—)				Wilson ⁽³⁾
1968 (—)				Wilson ⁽⁴⁾
1969 (—)				Wilson ⁽⁵⁾
Year	—	American	—	Yankee	—
1970 (1st)		Salisbury ⁽¹⁾		Wilson ⁽⁶⁾
1971 (2nd)		Plymouth Whitemarsh ⁽¹⁾		Wilson ⁽⁷⁾
1972 (3rd)		Salisbury ⁽²⁾		Wilson ⁽⁸⁾
Year	Independence	American	—	Yankee	—
1973 (4th)	Danville	East Pennsboro		Wilson ⁽⁹⁾
1974 (5th)	Phoenixville ⁽¹⁾	CB West		Plymouth Whitemarsh ⁽¹⁾
1975 (6th)	Hanover	Hatboro Horsham ⁽¹⁾		Plymouth Whitemarsh ⁽²⁾
1976 (7th)	Phoenixville ⁽²⁾	Shikellamy ⁽¹⁾		Abington
1977 (8th)	ELCO	Shikellamy ⁽²⁾		Plymouth Whitemarsh ⁽³⁾
Year	Independence	American	Liberty	Yankee	—
1978 (9th)	Upper Merion	Hanover ⁽¹⁾	Warwick ⁽¹⁾	Plymouth Whitemarsh ⁽⁴⁾
1979 (10th)	South Western	Upper Dublin	Shikellamy (tie) Williamsport Area	Plymouth Whitemarsh ⁽⁵⁾
1980 (11th)	Ephrata	Manheim Township	Cumberland Valley	North Penn ⁽¹⁾
1981 (12th)	Downingtown	Wissahickon ⁽¹⁾	Northern Lebanon	North Penn ⁽²⁾
1982 (13th)	Phoenixville ⁽³⁾	Archbishop Ryan	Manhiem Township ⁽¹⁾	North Penn ⁽³⁾
1983 (14th)	Upper Dublin ⁽¹⁾	Hanover ⁽²⁾	Upper Moreland ⁽¹⁾	Archbishop Ryan
1984 (15th)	Upper Dublin ⁽²⁾	Lake Lehman ⁽¹⁾	Manheim Township ⁽²⁾	North Penn ⁽⁴⁾
1985 (16th)	Conrad Weiser	Abington	Downingtown	Shikellamy ⁽¹⁾
1986 (17th)	Upper Dublin ⁽³⁾	Wissahickon ⁽²⁾	Upper Moreland ⁽²⁾	North Penn ⁽⁵⁾
1987 (18th)	Upper Dublin ⁽⁴⁾	Lake Lehman ⁽²⁾	Upper Moreland ⁽³⁾	North Penn ⁽⁶⁾
1988 (19th)	Upper Dublin ⁽⁵⁾	Hatboro Horsham ⁽²⁾	Spring Grove	North Penn ⁽⁷⁾
1989 (20th)	Upper Dublin ⁽⁶⁾	Upper Moreland ⁽¹⁾	Manheim Township ⁽³⁾	North Penn ⁽⁸⁾
1990 (21st)	Archbishop Wood ⁽¹⁾	Spring Grove ⁽¹⁾	Hatboro Horsham ⁽¹⁾	North Penn ⁽⁹⁾
1991 (22nd)	Archbishop Wood ⁽²⁾	Penn Manor ⁽¹⁾	Manheim Township ⁽⁴⁾	Shikellamy ⁽²⁾
1992 (23rd)	Upper Dublin ⁽⁷⁾	South Western ⁽¹⁾	Manheim Township ⁽⁵⁾	North Penn ⁽¹⁰⁾
1993 (24th)	Upper Dublin ⁽⁸⁾	Penn Manor ⁽²⁾	Hatboro Horsham ⁽²⁾	North Penn ⁽¹¹⁾
1994 (25th)	Upper Dublin ⁽⁹⁾	South Western ⁽²⁾	Manheim Township ⁽⁶⁾	North Penn ⁽¹²⁾
1995 (26th)	Upper Dublin ⁽¹⁰⁾	Reading	Manheim Township ⁽⁷⁾	Downington
Year	Independence	American	—	Yankee	—
1996 (27th)	Methacton	Hatboro Horsham ⁽³⁾		North Penn ⁽¹³⁾
1997 (28th)	Lancaster Catholic	Upper Moreland ⁽²⁾		Hatboro Horsham
1998 (29th)	Plymouth Whitemarsh	Penn Manor ⁽³⁾		Lampeter Strasburg ⁽¹⁾
1999 (30th)	Upper Dublin ⁽¹¹⁾	Spring Grove ⁽²⁾		Lampeter Strasburg ⁽²⁾
2000 (31st)	Bishop McDevitt ⁽¹⁾	Lancaster Catholic		South Western ⁽¹⁾
2001 (32nd)	Lebanon	South Western ⁽³⁾		Manheim Township ⁽¹⁾
2002 (33rd)	Bishop McDevitt ⁽²⁾	Phoenixville ⁽¹⁾		Manheim Township ⁽²⁾
Year	Independence	American	Liberty	Yankee	—
2003 (34th)	Lakewood	Phoenixville ⁽²⁾	Hatboro Horsham ⁽³⁾	Reading
2004 (35th)	Cinnaminson ⁽¹⁾	Phoenixville ⁽³⁾	Burlington City	Spring Grove
2005 (36th)	Greencastle-Antrim	Kingsway Regional	Oakcrest	South Western ⁽²⁾
2006 (37th)	Penns Grove	Hatboro Horsham ⁽⁴⁾	Warwick ⁽²⁾	South Western ⁽³⁾
2007 (38th)	Henderson	Susquehannock ⁽¹⁾	Warwick ⁽³⁾	Manheim Township ⁽³⁾
2008 (39th)	Pittston ⁽¹⁾	Hatboro Horsham ⁽⁵⁾	Warwick ⁽⁴⁾	Spring-Ford ⁽¹⁾
2009 (40th)	Pittston ⁽²⁾	Hatboro Horsham ⁽⁶⁾	New Oxford ⁽¹⁾	Spring-Ford ⁽²⁾
2010 (41st)	Pittston ⁽³⁾	Greencastle-Antrim	Southern Regional ⁽¹⁾	Spring-Ford ⁽³⁾
2011 (42nd)	Pittston ⁽⁴⁾	Haverford	Southern Regional ⁽²⁾	Upper Darby ⁽¹⁾
2012 (43rd)	E. Stroudsburg North ⁽¹⁾	Susquehanna Township	Hatboro Horsham ⁽⁴⁾	Upper Darby ⁽²⁾
2013 (44th)	E. Stroudsburg North ⁽²⁾	Plymouth Whitemarsh ⁽²⁾	Hatboro Horsham ⁽⁵⁾	Spring-Ford ⁽⁴⁾
Year	Independence	American	Liberty	Yankee	Patriot
2014 (45th)	Pittston ⁽⁵⁾	East Pennsboro	New Oxford ⁽²⁾	Marple Newtown ⁽¹⁾	Spring-Ford ⁽¹⁾
2015 (46th)	Blue Mountain	Sun Valley ⁽¹⁾	Hatboro Horsham ⁽⁶⁾	Marple Newtown ⁽²⁾	Upper Moreland ⁽¹⁾
2016 (47th)	Littlestown	Sun Valley ⁽²⁾	Susquehannock ⁽¹⁾	Marple Newtown ⁽³⁾	Spring-Ford ⁽²⁾
2017 (48th)	E. Stroudsburg North ⁽³⁾	Whitehall ⁽¹⁾	Susquehannock ⁽²⁾	Hempfield ⁽¹⁾	Spring-Ford ⁽³⁾
2018 (49th)	Cinnaminson ⁽²⁾	Whitehall ⁽²⁾	Susquehannock ⁽³⁾	Hempfield ⁽²⁾	Spring-Ford ⁽⁴⁾
2019 (50th)	Cinnaminson ⁽³⁾	Whitehall ⁽³⁾	Camp Hill	Hempfield ⁽³⁾	Nazareth Area ⁽¹⁾
2020¹ (—)	No champions^[a]
2021 (51st)	Whitehall	Susquehannock ⁽²⁾	Phoenixville	Nazareth Area ⁽¹⁾	Spring-Ford ⁽⁵⁾
2022 (52nd)	Haddon Heights	Williamsport Area ⁽¹⁾	Susquehannock ⁽⁴⁾	Warwick	Nazareth Area ⁽²⁾
2023 (53rd)	Biglerville	Sun Valley ⁽³⁾	Susquehannock ⁽⁵⁾	Nazareth Area ⁽²⁾	Upper Moreland ⁽²⁾
2024 (54th)	Donegal ⁽¹⁾	Williamsport Area ⁽²⁾	Susquehannock ⁽⁶⁾	Nazareth Area ⁽³⁾	Hempfield
2025 (55th)	Donegal ⁽²⁾	Pottsgrove	Susquehannock ⁽⁷⁾	Nazareth Area ⁽⁴⁾	No champion

A Class (1996–present)

Class intended for bands "new to the competitive arena".^[3] Rules changes in 2003 and 2004 increased participation in the class.

Year	Independence	American	—	Yankee	—
1996 (27th)	No champions	South Western ⁽¹⁾		No champions
1997 (28th)		West Chester EAST		York Suburban ⁽¹⁾ (tie) Hempfield ⁽¹⁾
1998 (29th)		No champions		Hempfield ⁽²⁾
1999 (30th)				York Suburban ⁽²⁾
2000 (31st)	Lebanon Catholic ⁽¹⁾			No champions
2001 (32nd)	Phoenixville	Conestoga Valley		No champions
2002 (33rd)	Lebanon Catholic ⁽²⁾	Burlington City		Marple Newtown
Year	Independence	American	Liberty	Yankee	—
2003 (34th)	Pitman	Oakcrest	West Chester EAST	South Western ⁽¹⁾
2004 (35th)	Upper Dauphin	Wissahickon	Coatesville	OJ Roberts ⁽¹⁾
2005 (36th)	ChiChester	Lenape	Burlington City	Boyertown
2006 (37th)	Pottsgrove	Annville Cleona	Conestoga Valley	Hempfield ⁽³⁾
2007 (38th)	Bermudian Springs ⁽¹⁾	William Penn	Archbishop Wood	Coatesville ⁽¹⁾
2008 (39th)	Upper Perkiomen	Blue Mountain ⁽¹⁾	Unionville	Red Lion ⁽¹⁾
2009 (40th)	Bermudian Springs ⁽²⁾	Phoenixville	York Suburban	OJ Roberts ⁽²⁾
2010 (41st)	Crestwood	Blue Mountain ⁽²⁾	Manheim Central	Cheltenham
2011 (42nd)	Archbishop Wood	Rustin	Red Lion	Wilson
2012 (43rd)	Bermudian Springs ⁽³⁾	Pottsgrove ⁽¹⁾	South Western ⁽¹⁾	Avon Grove
2013 (44th)	Northern Lebanon	Blue Mountain ⁽³⁾	South Western ⁽²⁾	Downingtown West
Year	Independence	American	Liberty	Yankee	Patriot
2014 (45th)	Sissonville ⁽¹⁾	Great Valley	South Western ⁽³⁾	Upper Dublin	Red Lion ⁽¹⁾
2015 (46th)	Sissonville ⁽²⁾	Northampton ⁽¹⁾	Daniel Boone	Kennett	Downingtown West
2016 (47th)	Cumberland Regional (tie) Palisades ⁽¹⁾	Northampton ⁽²⁾	Cheltenham	Upper Darby ⁽¹⁾	Manheim Central
2017 (48th)	Palisades ⁽²⁾	Loyalsock Township ⁽¹⁾	Great Valley	Coatesville ⁽²⁾	Downingtown East
2018 (49th)	Dieruff	Shikellamy	Northern York	Upper Darby ⁽²⁾	Cumberland Valley
2019 (50th)	York Catholic ⁽¹⁾	Loyalsock Township ⁽²⁾	Washington Township	Red Lion ⁽²⁾	Neshaminy
2020¹ (—)	No champions^[a]
2021 (51st)	Shikellamy (and) York Catholic ⁽²⁾	South Western ⁽²⁾	Upper Moreland	Red Lion ⁽³⁾	Cedar Crest ⁽¹⁾
2022 (52nd)	Biglerville	Hazleton Area	Eastern York	Pennridge	Cedar Crest ⁽²⁾
2023 (53rd)	Donegal	Pottsgrove ⁽²⁾	Greencastle-Antrim	South Western ⁽²⁾	Red Lion ⁽²⁾
2024 (54th)	Plymouth Whitemarsh	Shamokin Area	Bloomsburg	Cumberland Valley	No champion
2025 (54th)	Hatboro-Horsham	Jersey Shore	Big Spring	Cumberland Valley ⁽²⁾	No champion

Notes

1 2 The 2020 outdoor marching band season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

References

1 2 3 "Cavalcade of Bands Association Inc - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica . June 30, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
1 2 "Closing Cavalcade Indoor" (PDF). www.cavalcadeofbands.com. August 17, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
↑ "Marching Division Procedures & Rules". Cavalcade of Bands. Archived from the original on June 18, 2025.

External links

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[2020_c-3] 1 2 The 2020 outdoor marching band season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

[:0-1] 1 2 3 "Cavalcade of Bands Association Inc - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica . June 30, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025.

[:1-2] 1 2 "Closing Cavalcade Indoor" (PDF). www.cavalcadeofbands.com. August 17, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2025.

[4] "Marching Division Procedures & Rules". Cavalcade of Bands. Archived from the original on June 18, 2025.

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