Honda Battle of the Bands Levels Up With ‘Drumline’ Reunion And HBCU Excellence In First-Ever West Coast Showcase
Black culture is American culture. Period.
The experience of attending a historically Black college and/or university is unmatched. Just ask any student who beams with pride when they’re able to share the glory days that went with setting foot in the yard, experiencing fried chicken Wednesdays in the cafe, or simply strutting in their best across campus to get to class. There is a certain heir that surrounds someone with an HBCU education, and it is an aura that tends to follow them in the years beyond their time at prestigious institutions like Virginia State University, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, North Carolina A&T State University – the list could go on-and-on.
In 2025, there’s been a resurgence of the pride that follows attending an HBCU. One of the first instances of this was shown through the fictional Hillman College in the beloved sitcom A Different World, and once again in the 2002 film, Drumline, starring Nick Cannon and Zoe Saldana.
The coming-of-age teen comedy-drama highlighted the makings of the drumline of an HBCU band, with Cannon’s iconic character Devon Miles persevering through adversity and all the odds stacked against him to make the line during his first year. In the following years, the film became a cultural staple, even catalyzing the Honda Battle of the Bands Tour, which kicked off the following year in 2003, ultimately leading to the invitational showcase, the Honda Battle of the Bands, in the same year.
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History of Honda Battle of the Bands.
Since its inception, the showcase has highlighted bands from various HBCUs nationwide, even awarding more than $205,000 in grants to participating marching bands as part of its commitment to highlighting and pouring into HBCUS.
From the early to late 2000s, the Battle of the Bands dominated the South each winter. In 2019, the event took a one-year hiatus due to the Super Bowl LIII taking place in its host city of Atlanta, and despite resuming in 2020, it was again postponed in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Upon its return in 2023, it was held in a new city, Montgomery, when Alabama A&M University hosted HBOB. After another year’s hiatus in 2024, the event took its talents to the West Coast for the first time, taking place in Sofi Stadium, placing HBCU culture on full display in the city of Los Angeles for the first time.
The reunion we never knew we needed.
In a weekend filled with surprises, thousands of fans filled the arena to kick off the beloved event, which featured a reunion from Drumline’s very own Devon Miles (Nick Cannon) and Dr. Lee (Orlando Jones).
“It’s crazy to say it was 20 plus years ago, you know, we shot Drumline in 2001, and to just know that it was a subculture when we shot it, and now for it to be culture on full display on the main stage like it is here, just shows the evolution of art imitating life, and life imitation art while we’re here in a real battle of bands,” said Cannon during a press conference held by Honda ahead of the event. “It was fictitious, like something of this magnitude and they were like nobody would ever, you know, do that, and to see that now 19 years it’s been going on at that level and beyond is amazing. I don’t have the same skills [as Devon Miles], but to see the evolution is quite remarkable.”
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Six HBCU bands were hosted at SoFi stadium for the weekend, including, Alabama A&M University’s Marching Maroon & White Band, Alabama State University’s Mighty Marching Hornets, Hampton University’s The Marching Force, North Carolina A&T State University’s The Blue and Gold Marching Machine, Southern University’s Human Jukebox, and for the first-time ever the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s Marching Musical Machine of the Mid-South took part in the invitational showcase.
Moreover, Grammy-nominated hip-hop star and Memphis’ very own GloRilla closed out the event with a high-energy performance of her hits including, “Wanna Be,” “Yeah Glo!,” “TGIF,” and more.
A continued love for HBCUS.
To build on more than 35 years of support for HBCUS, Honda awarded all six schools with a $50,000 grant to enhance its music education and career development programs. Additionally, the leading automotive manufacturer presented a grant of $500,000 to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund ahead of HBOB 2025 to reaffirm its longstanding commitment to HBCU music education.
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