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Two HBCU bands joined rapper Travis Scott on stage at this year’s Coachella music festival. Florida A&M University’s Marching “100” band and Jackson State University’s Sonic Boom of the South joined Scott for several songs during his performance during the festival.
Twenty-six members of the FAMU Marching 100 joined Scott for the performance. The university’s Director of Bands and Professor of Music Shelby Chapman said in the statement that “this moment was bigger than a stage— it was a cultural crossroads.” He and Nicolas Thomas, who is the assistant director of bands and director of woodwinds, accompanied students on the trip.
“We brought our signature style and precision to one of the biggest musical stages on earth, and we certainly appreciate Travis Scott and the production team for this opportunity,” Chipman added.
In February, Scott posted a challenge on X, asking HBCU bands to perform his new song “4×4,” which was released in January, in order to earn a Coachella spot. Florida A&M earned that spot on the Coachella stage. Their performance earned over 6,500 likes and 5,000 shares on social media.
“It was unreal,” FAMU sophomore and sousaphone player Kimoni Coleman, a California native, said in a university release. “When we came out on stage, everything went blank. I was just like, ‘Wow, I’m here.’ No mistakes, no nerves, no nothing, just perform.”
Like Florida A&M, Jackson State earned their spot at Coachella through Scott’s “4×4” contest. The band’s challenge performance earned over 17,000 likes and over 800 comments on social media. The band joined Scott to perform several hit songs, including Sicko Mode, FE!N, and goosebumps.
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“Anything great is connected to hard work, and it’s something that our students are not unfamiliar with. They’re familiar with working hard, and they’ve been doing so in grand style up until this point, and I’m very proud of them,” said Roderick Little, Ph.D., director of bands. “Our hope is that opportunities like these will show how important HBCU bands are to the nation and ultimately reach the right people who are ready to be long-term partners and donors of the university, the band program, and, most importantly, our students.”
Several members of the band expressed their gratitude for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“This is nothing I ever saw myself doing, but I am definitely grateful for the opportunity to shine light on HBCU music in a positive way… definitely an amazing experience that allowed both of us to shine in front of people literally as far as the eye could see,” exclaimed Justus Merkerson, a music performance major and one of 26 Jackson State students who performed at Coachella.
Both bands are used to performing on a big stage. The Marching 100 have performed at the Grammy Awards, the 2007 Super Bowl halftime show with Prince, the 2022 Louis Vuitton Men’s Fashion Show in Paris, and the inaugurations for Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Last year, the Sonic Boom of the South joined Usher for his halftime show performance at the Super Bowl.
Supporters of both bands can watch their Coachella performances on YouTube.
