Rockford Marching Band Receives Amazing News At Last Performance Of The Year

It's hard to surprise a stadium full of people, but that's exactly what Rockford Marching Band director Brian Phillips did when he had everyone turn to the jumbotron in the south end zone for a surprise announcement.

Parents in attendance along with the entire Rockford Marching Band on the field had no idea what was about to happen next.

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On the jumbotron, a graphic popped up sharing the great news! The Rockford High School Marching Band was invited to the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena in 2023.

After the big announcement, junior drum major Tommy McGovern told WZZM, "That was shocking. I was so happy I was surrounded by all my friends that I was going to be with there. And that's going to be an amazing experience. We're going to have so much fun with that and we're going to be able to work hard even more."

For some seniors in the band, it was amazing to be a part of the announcement but unfortunately, they won't be in the band in 2023 when they fly out to California.

Senior Brady Smith said, "It's really cool to be a reason that like the class below me, you know, these people I care about that are still in the program, get to have that cool experience."

You can watch the performance and the surprise announcement video here

If this week hasn't been exciting enough for the Rockford Marching Band, they're heading down to Indianapolis, Indiana this weekend to take part in the Bands of America Grand Nationals.