West Coast Battle Of The Bands With Nick Cannon And GloRilla

For the nineteenth yr, Honda has supported and amplified HBCU tradition with its annual Battle of the Bands showcase. However this yr, Honda took the initiative additional by internet hosting it in Los Angeles for the primary time. 

Six marching bands from traditionally Black Schools and Universities had been introduced out to L.A. to carry out on the new and improved SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The HBOB performers didn’t disappoint as their musical percussion electrified SoFi Stadium in solo units, stand-offs, and factors the place they got here collectively to indicate off their HBCU pleasure. 

From kicking off the present with a unified efficiency of the Black Nationwide Anthem and Nationwide Anthem whereas spelling out “HBCU” with their our bodies, to storming the sphere following their solo units to cheer on GloRilla who closed out the present, the six bands exemplified Black Excellence from begin to end.

Colleges who featured within the 2025 showcase embrace: 

Alabama A&M College – Marching Maroon and White Band

Alabama State College – Mighty Marching Hornets

Hampton College – The Marching Pressure

North Carolina A&T College – Blue and Gold Marching Machine

Southern College – Human Jukebox Marching Band

College of Arkansas Pine Bluff – Marching Musical Machine of the Mid-South

With the coveted showcase coming within the wake of the devastating wildfires in L.A., Honda made certain the occasion supported the town and the victims affected by the pure catastrophe. 

“It’s a good looking factor what Honda is doing,” Cannon stated in a press convention forward of the showcase.

“Within the midst of the catastrophic fires that this metropolis has skilled to see neighborhood come collectively, even at a time the place it’s like, ‘OK, can we social gathering but? Can we’ve got a superb time?’”

He continued. “However to indicate, yeah, we’re going to have a superb time in spirit and have a good time the those who, you realize, the primary responders. We’re going to proceed to really feel and emote for the individuals who have misplaced family members, their possessions, their properties, their companies. And that’s what this (HBCU) tradition has at all times carried out in occasions of hardship is come collectively and unified. So the truth that we is usually a beacon in that setting, within the metropolis, proper now that most likely issues probably the most, or wants it probably the most.”

“The Honda management crew continues to emphasize music brings folks collectively and that the town wants this proper now,” stated Jasmine Cockfield, Undertaking Chief for Honda Battle of The Bands and Honda Campus All-Star Problem. 

Along with supporting native companies, the showcase accepted donations and hosted a meals drive with native organizations “so the people who find themselves attending the occasion can donate canned items and non-perishable objects,” Cockfield added. “That simply continues to indicate the spirit of Honda.”

BLACK ENTERPRISE was invited to go even additional into the Honda Battle of the Bands expertise with take a look at drives of the 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid, the 2024 Honda Prologue, and MotoCompacto, along with touring the American Honda Assortment Corridor the place we noticed an unique assortment of Honda vehicles, bikes, energy merchandise, and race machines that work collectively to inform a narrative from Honda’s previous into the current. 

The Honda Civic Hybrid take a look at drives allowed us an opportunity to get pleasure from a scenic drive across the lavish Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, and see simply why this electrified variant of America’s hottest compact automobile, has been honored with the distinguished 2025 North American Automotive of the 12 months award.

The day of take a look at drives and Assortment Corridor touring additionally included a particular invitation to Honda’s Battle of the Bands VIP Reception the place the automotive producer big shared its continued dedication to HBCUs and their infectious tradition. 

“I had a pupil from UAPB come as much as me and hug me and say, ‘Thanks, Miss Jasmine. I’ve by no means been on a aircraft earlier than. Neither have I ever stayed in a lodge.’ That’s a narrative, proper? That’s Honda’s dedication,” Cockfield shared.

Since 2003, Honda has proudly hosted the Honda Battle of the Bands (HBOB), a premier occasion celebrating the expertise and tradition of marching bands from HBCUs. The 2025 version marked its nineteenth yr, persevering with its legacy as a platform for HBCU college students to showcase their musical artistry and dynamic choreography to a large viewers. 

Extensively considered a blueprint for celebrating HBCU tradition, HBOB highlights Honda’s enduring dedication to HBCUs by scholarships, packages, and varied initiatives that assist pupil success. After a profitable debut in L.A., college students and followers are hopeful for an additional HBOB on the West Coast.