The VFTS 2023-24 Season Preview

Pre-Drill season is right around the corner, which means excitement for fans of HBCU Bandom. VFTS takes a closer look at some of the more compelling program story lines for the upcoming season.


There’s absolutely nothing like late July or early August for bandheads. Why? It’s the beginning of Pre-Drill, of course. It’s the time of year where season hopes for practically EVERY program on the HBCU band landscape rings eternal. The 2022-23 season was one of the more exciting ones for fans and enthusiasts alike, with some familiar names in new places putting their stamp on some well-known programs, and creating potential new rivalries in the process. We also saw the influence of HBCU Bands and Band Culture, extend its reach beyond the gridiron in ways that are rarely seen anywhere else. So, what do fans and hardcore band aficionados have to look forward to for this upcoming season? Let VFTS set the table a little bit for the season to come.

An Old “New” Rivalry Takes Shape…

Brian Simmons has had the reputation of being somewhat of a prodigy in HBCU music circles when it comes to his talent for arranging compelling marching band music for audiences. A product of the Southern University ‘Human Jukebox’ legacy, he’s been part of some of the best sounding editions of the Jukebox in recent memory. He’s now in the 3rd year of his own fiefdom, heading up a program with it’s own storied tradition in Texas Southern’s ‘Ocean Of Soul‘ Marching Band. The Ocean looked and sounded like one of the best programs of an always ultra-competitive SWAC band landscape last season, with Director Simmons’ (and talented staff) leaving an indelible mark on the program’s overall on-field and musical quality. With the Texas Southern program knee deep in some of HBCU Bandom’s most fertile recruiting grounds in Houston, the sky is truly the limit for the Ocean’s potential this season.

VFTS Asks…What will the Crats do for an Encore?

The Tennessee State Univ. “Aristorcrat of Bands” were on another level last season in more ways than one. While they’ve got a long-standing tradition of on-field excellence, it was their seminal accomplishments off of the gridiron that drew international acclaim and set historic milestones in one fail swoop. The now Grammy award-winning Crats head into the 2023-24 season looking to bring that swagger back to where they’ve traditionally made their mark; The football field and halftime. The Norfolk State University “Spartan Legion” and Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s “Marching Musical Machine of the Mid-South” (M4) may be the only potential game-affiliated match-ups on the schedule, but rest assured that there will be some high-profile match-ups involving the Aristocrats outside of the traditional game day fare. The first of those appearances? The absolutely LOADED Pepsi National Battle Of The Bands in Houston.

A Small Band Resurgence?

We all love seeing the big boys on Saturdays putting on a show, but last year saw a number of smaller, less publicly recognized programs really make their mark during the season. Arguably the best of that bunch, were the “Mighty Marching Thorobreds” of Kentucky State University. The band had some eye-opening performances, most notably in the ‘wake-up’ spot of last season Pepsi National BOTB, and in a head-to-head BOTB match-up with the Mighty Marching Hornets of Alabama State. Talladega College was an attractive mainstay on the BOTB circuit last year, while the “Marching Pride” of Langston University got some well-deserved shine at the season-ending Honda Battle Of The Bands in Montgomery. The “Marching Trojan Explosion” of Virgina State University will also be part of opening act of the 2023-24 season in Houston, at the aforementioned Pepsi National Battle Of the Bands. Other budding programs, like the ones at Allen University, Wilberforce University, and Simmons College, are part of a growing vanguard of schools looking to make their own mark in and on the culture this season.

Are We a Step Closer to being ‘Official’?

The concept of the ‘Battle of The Bands’ framework has long been a subjective one. By it’s very nature, the competitive performance art associated with the culture around HBCU marching bands has held that subjectivity as both a positive AND a negative. On one hand, the culture is one of thee most unique, fan-driven experiences that’s associated with the culture around HBCU Sports. It’s also a factor that may cause the evolution of the competitive part of the performance art form to plateau, and possibly become redundant to the audiences that we perform to. There have been calls for an actual competition framework to OFFICIALLY establish a pecking order in the craft, which in it self could be something that drives the culture (and the institutions that support it) toward monetization, and even MORE visibility to mainstream audiences. The topic isn’t a new one, but it’s something that might just find new life, given where we are with social and digital media and the like. we may very well see those whispers turn into something a bit more tangible this season. Who knows? We here at VFTS could definitely get behind adjudication, particularly if there are ‘monetary’ considerations involved.


Well, that’s it for this installment of View From The Sidelines! Stay tuned for the Pre-Season VFTS Top Ten band poll for the 2023-2024 HBCU marching Band Season, and stay tuned for coverage of HBCU Bands and HBCU Band culture throughout the upcoming season! Until next time…

#VFTS #ProtectTheHistory #PreserveTheCraft