W. J. Keenan High School, Marlboro County High School and Langston Hughes High School were recognized as winners of the seventh annual Battle of the Bands hosted by the Richmond County School System (RCSS) on Sunday afternoon.
Battle of the Bands is a yearly showcase of high school marching band talent, both locally and outside of the CSRA.
Two winners were also announced for the dance squads that accompanied the marching bands. A second place title was awarded to W. J. Keenan High and a first place title was awarded to Lucy C. Laney High.
Competing Schools
Fifteen high schools showed off their skills with sequin-spangled pageantry on Sunday afternoon at Butler High School’s football stadium.
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“This year our bands were very, very good,” said RCSS Fine Arts Coordinator, Lynwood Holmes. “They really came with their A game this year. I mean every band, every band sounded amazing.”
Eight of the competing schools were local: Academy of Richmond County, Butler High, Cross Creek High, Glenn Hills High, Hephzibah High, T.W. Josey High, Lucy C. Laney High and Westside High.
Visiting competitors included Langston Hughes High from Fairburn, Fairfield Central High from Winnsboro, S.C., Jefferson County High from Louisville, Darlington High from Darlington, S.C., Benjamin Banneker High from Atlanta, W.J. Keenan High from Columbia, S.C. and Marlboro County High from Bennettsville, S.C..
Scholarship opportunities
College marching bands from Fort Valley State University and South Carolina State University also made appearances on Sunday. According to Holmes, a central part of the event is lining high school students up with college band scholarships.
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“These college bands that come offer our students scholarships,” he said. He added that last year, over 60 RCSS students received band scholarships through the Battle of the Bands event.
Marching band program growth
“When I took this position, my enrollment for marching bands were declining, and these kinds of events like this help spark the interest for students, not only for high school students but for our elementary and middle school students that come to this event,” said Holmes.
Holmes said planning for next year’s Battle of the Bands will begin immediately, and will include finding a way to host a larger audience for the event, which is growing in popularity; The Butler High School stadium, which Holmes said can hold 5,000 people, was outsold for the competition on Sunday.
“You can tell by the audience, we had standing room only,” he said.
