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PAUL:

10 of the world's best HBCU marching bands are converging in one place for the first time in history. That sounds like a heck of a way to celebrate Labor Day weekend.

Hey, it's Paul Wolf with a front row seat to conversations on culture from Jackson, Mississippi. We call our podcast Soul Sessions. It's the people, places and events that make the city with soul shine. On today's show, my colleague Yolanda Clay Moore talks with Alex Davis, the visionary behind the HBCU Labor Day Classic Battle of the Bands. He's bringing an unprecedented celebration of band culture to Jackson, complete with food trucks, VIP field access, and the chance for high school musicians to rub shoulders with collegiate legends like JSU's Sonic Boom of the South.

YOLANDA:

Alex Davis with the HBCU Battle of the Bands. Welcome, welcome, welcome.

ALEX:

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

YOLANDA:

We are expecting a wonderful event here in the city of Jackson, the HBCU Battle of the Bands. It's a Labor Day classic. Alex, tell us a little bit about why Jackson first. And then I want you to tell us about what the HBCU band culture is about. Yeah.

ALEX:

So Jackson, Mississippi is a great band culture. You have one of the top marching bands in the world that resides here being that Jackson State University, Sonic Boom of the South. Growing up, that was one of my favorite bands. My high school, our band director was from Jackson State and we took after the boom. Actually, our nickname was the Sonic Boom of the South as well down in T.W. Josie in Augusta, Georgia. So the band culture here is very, very great. I had a great conversation with Dr. Little and he said that he think we should bring this event to Jackson. And so he said the band culture is good. It's a great central location. So we said, Hey, let's try it out. You know, and we came, we're here. And, every since we've been here, the spirit of Jackson is just great. The HBCU culture here is great. Everybody loves band. So I don't think it would be a better place to have this event than Jackson, Mississippi.

YOLANDA:

You know, I can't help but agree. Love, love, love the boom. I'm actually a Tougaloo grad, another HBCU here in the city of Jackson, but it's a private institution. So we never had a band until I think they announced it recently, they're starting a band. But you know, we've always supported Jackson State University and we've always been proud of the Sonic Boom of the South. And so this Labor Day classic is chock full of events. So give us a little rundown of what the people can expect.

ALEX:

What we do when we come to town, we want to make it a celebration. We don't just want to be a one day event. We want you to come to town, embrace the culture, embrace that whole city. We want Jackson to be a destination. So even when we leave here, people say, hey, I had a great time in Jackson. I want to go back there. I liked this about Jackson. This food was good, you know. So we put a lot of ancillary events around the actual event. So this year leading up into the event, we're partnering with Jackson State on Thursday for the golf tournament, the Ashley Robinson golf tournament. So if you know how to play golf, or if you think you know how to play golf, come on out and play a little bit, you know? And then on Friday we have an official welcome to Jackson mixer. That's going to be at the Ice House, free event, free food, free drinks, just kind of like a mix and mingle, just getting everybody excited for the weekend. On Saturday, of course you guys are going to be playing football. You got Hampton in town and so we're going to be out there. We're to do a tailgate cookout. That's a free event. Just kind of letting people know, hey, we're in town. Come out and have a good time.

And then on Saturday night, we actually have the official Labor Day white party is going to be going on at The Westin. We're excited about that. Just kind of getting people excited and giving them something else to do. And then on Sunday, we have the big event. We got the fan fest, the food truck festival. We’ve got, I think, we have between 30 to 40 food trucks. We'll probably have 50 to 60 vendors. We're to have a live stage with high school bands are going to be there about 14 high schools. We have some youth groups performing. It's just a big celebration, big pep rally, getting everybody ready for the main event where we have 10 of the world's best HBCU marching bands coming. This has never been done before. First time ever in history, we have 10 HBCUs all in one place. So this is huge.

YOLANDA:

I mean, that's incredible. 10 HBCU bands that is unheard of. I am part of the committee that selects bands or tries to get bands to participate in a parade. And that's a lot of work. A lot of work. My hat is off to you.

ALEX:

Well, it takes a lot. It takes a lot of scheduling. And for this, everything just kind of worked out perfect. Because you know, it's football season. Everyone has their own football games. So to make this happen with all of these bands was really amazing. I'm going say it was great timing, you know? So we're very, very excited about the bands that we have coming. Of course, Jackson State, Southern University, Alcorn, Mississippi Valley, Talladega, Langston, UAPB, Alabama State, Alabama A and Grammys. I'm very excited.

YOLANDA:

That is an impressive laundry list of HBCU talent.

ALEX:

It is, I'm telling you.

YOLANDA:

And to see those programs to come together in one space. I mean, it's phenomenal. So again, my hats off to you for that. You also have some high school bands participating?

ALEX:

We do. Yeah. We have about 14 high schools that's going to be there and they're from all over. We do have some local ones as well. I believe, Jim Hill, Callaway, Forest Hill, those are the local high schools. We also have the Baby Tigers going to be there. We have some local youth groups dance groups going to be there, but then we also have some high schools from other states. Uh, we got them from Arkansas, Louisiana. We've got some coming from Georgia, Tennessee. So this is a national event and we have a lot of national different bands coming as well.

YOLANDA:

You know, I'm thinking I'm a former band member. Okay. I did not participate in the style of bands that Jackson State or the HBCUs, but I always admired them. I remember the first time I saw the Jackson State cymbal players. And when I saw them trolling those symbols, I had never seen that before. It blew my mind. So I can't imagine the opportunity for these high school students to rub elbows and be in the same space with all of these electric HBCU collegiate bands.

ALEX:

Yeah. And that's really what it's about, to be honest. We want to get them that exposure. We have another event with the sonic boom. It's called Morning with the Boom where we were actually letting the high schools come to their practice on Sunday morning. So they'll actually go sit in on their practice, see what practice looks like, and they can actually engage with the students and the staff once it's over. That's like a once in a lifetime type of thing. You know, I would have loved to do that when I was in high school. So that's one of the things we have going. And another thing that we want to do, we want to encourage more youth to actually get involved in marching bands. That's one of the reasons why we do what we do. I was in band my whole life all through college. It's when you're in band, you just learn certain life skills that you can take with you for the rest of your life. You're to learn discipline. You're going to learn accountability, respect, sacrifice, teamwork. So it's a lot of life skills to where you can take with you. And I feel like it makes the world a better place. So we like for kids to actually get involved, get motivated, and then you can also get a scholarship and go to college. That's one of the reasons why we do what we do as well.

YOLANDA:

Yeah. That is a strong end game by itself, the scholarship opportunities, because, you know, school is very, very expensive. So if you're able to participate in something that you love and you benefit from it, that's all the better. Now, as far as participation, are you still looking for vendors or are there things you're still looking for?

ALEX:

Yeah. So, we still have the vendors, if you'd have a food truck, if we have a vendor, you have merchandise. We want to bring in the local community. We want to enhance the exposure of the local businesses in the economic impact as well. So yeah, if you have it, you can actually, go to the website and register to become a vendor. would love to have you. want to showcase you guys at this event and show, everyone what Jackson has to offer.

YOLANDA:

As far as getting tickets to come to the event, how did it go about getting the tickets?

ALEX:

HBCU, Labor Day Classic.com.

YOLANDA:

Simple enough. Are there any opportunities for VIP treatment or anything of that associated with the event?

ALEX:

Yeah. So we have a VIP ticket. It's called a VIP all access pass. So you got some people who really want to get into the culture. Some people who really want to be in the thick of things right there on the field. So that VIP ticket would actually get you free food and get you free drinks and it gets you access where you can actually be on the field right there in front of these bands. You know, if you want to hear that sound and hit you in the face, that's the ticket that you want. You can go right on the field, be right in front of them and that's where you want to be.

YOLANDA:

Yes. I can imagine band alumni members wanting those VIP passes.

ALEX:

Yes. They love it. If I was attending, that's where I would be at. I would be right there.

I want that sound to hit me right in the face.

YOLANDA:

Alex, I just want to thank you so much for taking the time. I know you have a very busy schedule getting ready for this Labor Day Classic, the HBCU Labor Day Classic Battle of the Bands coming to Jackson and let's give them the date so we make sure that we are on point.

ALEX:

Sunday, August 31st at the Veterans Memorial Stadium. Trust me, you don't want to miss it. Come out for the Food Truck Festival right before and at six o'clock the bands are coming in and it's going to be amazing.

PAUL:

That's Alex Davis in conversation with Yolanda Claymore about the HBCU Labor Day Classic. It's events like these that remind us why Jackson is such a natural home for celebrating culture, music, and community. From the golf tournament to the all-white party, from high school bands getting mentored by college legends to fans getting that sound that hits them right in the face from VIP field access.

This Labor Day weekend promises to be one for the books. We'll have links in our show notes at visitjackon.com/soulsessions. This podcast is produced by Visit Jackson, the destination organization for Mississippi's capital city. Our executive producers are Jonathan Pettus and Dr. Ricky Thigpen, and I'm our managing editor. You can learn more about the great things happening in Jackson at our website. It's visitjackson.com.

I'm Paul Wolf and you've been listening to Soul Sessions.

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