UNA band readies for Macy’s Day Parade performance
FLORENCE — University of North Alabama Band Director Lloyd Jones said the Marching Pride is gearing up for a new school year that will be highlighted by a historic moment for the band and university — performing at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“We’re ready to get this started,” Jones said. “We’re going to take this music all the way to New York.”
He said interest in the band has increased since it was announced in October 2024 that the Marching Pride was among 12 bands invited to the 2025 parade.
“We’ll have about 280 band members this year,” Jones said. “That is the largest band by a wide margin we’ve ever had at UNA.”
The venture has required a great deal of fundraising, and that has been successful with more than $400,000 raised for the trip, Jones said.
He said he has been amazed by the amount of donations that have poured in from alumni, civic leaders, businesses and other supporters, including UNA’s School of the Arts, College of Arts, Sciences and Engineering and Department of Music.
“All pitched in to help in numerous ways,” Jones said.
The funds also are going toward additional band uniforms since the band has grown. There were 265 members for the 2024 football season and 235 in 2023.
This year’s football halftime shows will have “Big Apple” themes as a nod to the upcoming Macy’s parade.
“There is a lot of iconic music associated with New York,” Jones said. “We’ll play major tunes and drop in some Easter eggs. You want to hear something new every show, and you will.”
The “St. Louis Blues,” which was composed by Florence native W.C. Handy, will be among tunes the Marching Pride will play while marching during the Macy’s parade.
Each band gets 75 seconds at Herald Square and is featured in nationally televised broadcasts. Jones said the nation will get a major taste of Shoals music during that span with the band performing snippets of “When a Man Loves a Woman,” “Mustang Sally,” “Old Time Rock and Roll” and “Brown Sugar.”
He said parade officials told him Christmas music is common during the 75-second performances, so they like it when something different is played. Jones told them about the Muscle Shoals musical heritage and started rattling off the laundry list of hits from the Shoals and they were delighted.
“They said that will give the news commentators an angle to talk about while we’re at Herald Square,” he said.
UNA will use six buses to take the band to New York City. Supporters such as family and alumni will fill an additional six buses for the journey.
The endeavor will last six nights in a whirlwind journey that starts when they board the buses at 3 a.m. on Nov. 23. That will be the day after performing for UNA’s last home game on Nov. 22.
They will take in a Broadway show and visit Radio City Music Hall, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Rockefeller Center and One World Trade Center.
The band also will visit Washington, D.C.
“On the way back we’re going to stop and play at the Lincoln Memorial,” Jones said. “We’re also going to give the students time at the Smithsonian Institution.”
