HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — We love the football games. However, when it's halftime it's all about the marching band!
This marching band's reputation precedes them. The Marching Maroon & White has been known to break barriers and dubbed the oldest HBCU marching band in the country. You've heard the sound, but you're about to meet the man behind the band.
Meet Mr. Carlton Wright. He's been the Director of Bands for the Marching Maroon & White for eleven years at Alabama A&M University.
"From coast to coast, the Marching Maroon & White is there, representing," said Wright.
Take his word for it. We'll start with last Thanksgiving at the Big Apple. The Marching Maroon & White became the first-ever HBCU to lead the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!
"We were the first band in the parade, the first unit in the parade, period," said Wright.
Being a bulldog is the gift that keeps on giving. The marching band is now preparing for the annual Honda's Battle of the Bands at the SoFi Stadium in L.A. on February 1, 2025.
"North Carolina A&T chose us to challenge them. So that's how we got in the voting process," said Wright.
When asked why, Wright said, "Well, they want to get beat up. No, but seriously, the band world is a really small world and we're really good friends with some of those guys. Well, all the guys that are at North Carolina A&T."
Also, if you didn't know. "We're always in the voting process all along the way, and from what I'm told by Honda people that we were pretty good with our standards, with the votes in anyway," said Wright.
Wright says the marching band has a distinct sound. "We have a really clean and powerful, balanced sound. You know, a lot of HBCU bands go for strictly power, but we go for the power as well. We want everyone to hear everything about our band, from the tools to the percussion, to the trumpets, to the woodwinds, piccolos, clarinet, saxophones. Our arranger, Mr. Warren, he is very, very meticulous about how he writes the music so that every instrument is going to be heard in some capacity, regardless of how strong the music is, how loud it is, and how soft it is."
Wright says the university has been invited to the Honda's Battle of the Bands before. "This will be our fifth time under my leadership, sixth overall."
However he tells us what makes this time so different. "It seems to be all the stars are lining up. 2025 will be our university's 150th anniversary. It also will be the band's 135th anniversary and our band boosters ten year anniversary."
So what's next for MMW?
"We're applying for some other big things, you know, don't want to reveal what they are now, but we're going to apply for some other big stages that the band can play for and bring more positive light to the university."
Next weekend the band will be at the annual Magic City Classic in Birmingham as the bulldogs take on Alabama State.