A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. They are most popular in the United States, though not uncommon in other parts of the world. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, often of a military style, that includes an associated organization's colors, name or symbol. Most high school marching bands, and some college marching bands, are accompanied by a color guard, a group of performers who add a visual interpretation to the music through the use of props, most often flags, rifles, and sabers.
Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, about 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Peoria. As of the 2020 census the population of the city was 15,051, down from 19,288 in 2010. Macomb is the home of Western Illinois University.
Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. Once Western Illinois started offering graduate degrees, it again changed its name to Western Illinois State College. Western Illinois has an additional campus in Moline.
Winter Guard International (WGI) is an American governing body that sanctions championship events for three competitive performing arts activities: color guard, percussion ensembles, and indoor marching bands. WGI was founded in 1977 in response to inconsistent adjudication and rules of competition which made it difficult for color guards to compete nationally. Today, WGI publishes and maintains an adjudication handbook, with an accompanying "Rules & Regulations", that has been widely adopted.
LeRoy A. Ufkes Court at Western Hall is a 5,139-seat multi-purpose arena in Macomb, Illinois. It was built in 1964. It is home to the Western Illinois University Leathernecks men's and women's basketball teams and the women's volleyball team.
The Purdue "All-American" Marching Band is the marching band of Purdue University and performs at Purdue Boilermakers football games. The AAMB is also the official band of the Indianapolis 500 race, having held the position since 1919.
North Oconee High School (NOHS) is a public school located in Bogart, Georgia, United States. It opened in 2004 and is the second public high school in Oconee County.
Hanson Field is a 16,368-seat multi-purpose stadium in Macomb, Illinois, USA. The stadium which opened in 1950 is home to the Western Illinois Leathernecks football team and track and field team. The field is named after former WIU football coach/A.D. and Marine legend Rock Hanson. A unique feature of the facility is an extensive hillside that surrounds the field allowing for additional seating for thousands of spectators. Outside the stadium, a statue of former WIU track and field coach and two time Olympic gold medalist Lee Calhoun stands and a bulldog statue is located at the main entrance.
The University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band (UMMB) is the marching band for the University of Massachusetts Amherst known for its drum corps style and nationally renowned percussion section. The Minuteman Band is also known for its use of dance routines, vocalists, electronics, and overall showmanship.
The Western Illinois Leathernecks are the teams and athletes that represent Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I sports. The school's primary conference affiliation is with the Ohio Valley Conference; its football team is a member of the Division I FCS Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) and its men's soccer team plays in the Summit League, in which the school had been a member since that conference's formation in 1982. Western Illinois announced on May 12, 2023 its departure from the Summit League to become a full member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in most sports beginning seven weeks subsequent on July 1. Two Leathernecks teams will play outside the OVC in the fall 2023 season before joining the rest of the school's teams in the OVC in 2024—the football team in the MVFC, and the men's soccer team in the Summit League.
The Tulane University Marching Band (TUMB) is the marching band of Tulane University. It performs at every Tulane Green Wave football home game in Yulman Stadium, bowl games, and some away games. It is also marches in New Orleans Mardi Gras parades each year, having appeared in Le Krewe d'Etat, the Krewe of Thoth, the Krewe of Bacchus, and the Krewe of Rex, among others.
The "Pride of Mid-America" is the name of the Ball State University marching band. Consisting of around 200 members, it is the largest student organization at Ball State.
The Pride of the Mountains is the marching band of Western Carolina University. The band performs pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows at all Catamount Football home games and provides exhibition performances throughout the Carolinas. Unlike most college marching bands, the Pride of the Mountains designs, creates, and performs one perfected halftime show other than doing different performances every week.
The Marching Salukis is the official marching band of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Composed of men and women, the band performs at all SIU football home games and marches in parades for SIU homecoming, the Du Quoin State Fair and Carbondale Lights Fantastic. The band has also performed in halftime programs for the Chicago Bears, St. Louis Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Rams, as well as presidential addresses in Carbondale by Bill Clinton.
The Ocean of Soul is the marching band representing Texas Southern University, and is currently under the direction of Brian K. Simmons.
The Eastern Michigan University Marching Band serves as Eastern Michigan University's marching band.
Canadian military bands are a group of personnel in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) that performs musical duties for military functions. Military bands form a part of the Music Branch of the CAF, composed of six full-time professional Regular Force bands, 15 Regular Force voluntary bands, and 53 part-time reserve force bands. Bands of the Music Branch are often badged with the unit or Canadian Forces base insignia that they support.
The Blue and Gold Marching Machine is the official marching band of North Carolina A&T State University. The Blue and Gold Marching Machine performs pre-game and halftime shows at all North Carolina A&T Aggies football home games and travels to most away games.
The Western Illinois Leathernecks women's basketball team represents Western Illinois University of Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I women's college basketball competition. The school's team currently competes in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Leathernecks became a member of the Ohio Valley Conference on July 1, 2023.
A mounted band is a military or civilian musical ensemble composed of musician playing their instruments while being mounted on an animal. The instrumentation of these bands are limited, with the musician having to play their instrument, as well as steer the animal to the designated location. Most mounted bands, therefore, use instruments that can easily be held, such as bugles, horns, and Fanfare trumpets. Timpani and glockenspiels are also a common feature, usually located at the head of a band. Although a band that is mounted on any member of the families Equidae and Camelidae are considered to be a mounted band, horses are most commonly used, mostly being employed in military bands in Europe, North and South America, and some parts of Asia.
