London Band Week

11/10/2026

11/10/2026

More than a performance. A meeting of musical cultures. 🇬🇧🇺🇸

When His Majesty’s Royal Marines Corps of Drums, Portsmouth Band, travelled to Knoxville, Tennessee, to join the University of Tennessee’s Pride of the Southland Band, the occasion promised to be something rather special.

Performing alongside the Pride of the Southland and its Alumni Band, the Royal Marines took to the field at Neyland Stadium for a spectacular halftime show in front of more than 102,000 college football fans. More than 800 musicians, representing two proud musical traditions, came together for a performance celebrating the enduring friendship between the United Kingdom and the United States.

But some of the most meaningful moments of the visit took place away from the stadium, beyond the crowds and the spectacle.

Because this collaboration was about much more than performance.

Throughout their visit, the Royal Marines shared their musical knowledge, experience and traditions with students at the University of Tennessee’s College of Music.

The Royal Marines Buglers worked with the university trumpet students in the Trumpet Studio, offering an insight into the distinctive techniques, traditions and musical responsibilities of the Royal Marines Corps of Drums. And as Drummers, they also shared their way of life with the College’s Percussionists through a dedicated Percussion Studio, exploring their approach to performance and military musicianship.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Steve Green delivered two further sessions, engaging with undergraduate and postgraduate conducting students and sharing perspectives drawn from his distinguished career in military music.

Four educational sessions, each providing an opportunity for students and professional military musicians to exchange ideas, ask questions, explore different approaches and learn from one another.

And that, perhaps, is where the greatest value of this collaboration lies.

The Royal Marines and the Pride of the Southland Band come from very different musical worlds, each with its own history, traditions and identity. Yet they share something fundamental: a commitment to musical excellence, education, teamwork and the development of the next generation of musicians.

Bringing those worlds together creates opportunities that extend well beyond a single performance. It broadens horizons, builds friendships, encourages mutual understanding and strengthens a global community of musicians united by a shared passion.

Our sincere thanks to Lieutenant Colonel Steve Green and Dr Michael J. Stewart, Director of the Pride of the Southland Band, for their leadership, enthusiasm and commitment to making this remarkable collaboration possible.

And to the Royal Marines, university faculty, students and alumni who embraced the experience so wholeheartedly, thank you.

The halftime show may have lasted only a few minutes, but the friendships, experiences and musical connections created in Knoxville will endure far longer.

That is the real power of music. And that is what international musical collaboration should be about.

Special thanks to Graduate Teaching Assistant Anna who looked after the Buglers from start to finish 💪

🇬🇧🇺🇸🎶



📸 Betty Myers, John Monroe, Austin Orr

10/10/2026

Happy homecoming to all our friends - and team mates - in Athens today!

09/10/2026

09/10/2026

👏

09/10/2026

This was so much fun!

08/10/2026

What does legacy really mean? 🇬🇧🎶

This summer, at London Band Week’s National Marching Music Day, we were reminded that the true legacy of an event isn’t necessarily what happens on the day. It’s what continues to happen because of it.

In 1992, hundreds of young musicians marched through the ceremonial heart of London. Thirty-four years later, we invited them back to The Mall for a special reunion at our Palace Parade Review.

And many answered the call.

What struck us most was that so many were still wearing marching band uniforms.

Because they are still marching.

Those young musicians have become today’s instructors, leaders and volunteers, creating opportunities for new generations to enjoy the experiences that shaped their own lives.

They haven’t simply kept the memories alive. They’ve kept the music alive.

And there was another wonderful reunion.

In 1992, a young Royal Parks employee, Mark Wasilewski, helped organise that original parade. It was his first event.

Thirty-four years later, Mark is the Park Manager, and his support was instrumental in bringing our Palace Parade Review to The Mall.

We affectionately called him ‘The Parade Maker’.

Seeing Mark reunited with the musicians of 1992, in the very place where their stories began, was something rather special.

To Mark, our returning alumni and everyone who volunteers, teaches and keeps marching music alive, thank you.

You are the people who turn opportunities into legacies.

That is why National Marching Music Day matters.

That is why marching bands matter.

And that is a legacy worth celebrating. 🇬🇧🎶

08/10/2026

What does legacy really mean?

Is it the memory of a remarkable occasion? The photographs we keep? The stories we tell? Or is it something rather more enduring?

This summer, at London Band Week's National Marching Music Day, we were reminded that the true legacy of an event isn't necessarily what happens on the day. It's what continues to happen because of it.

In 1992, hundreds of young musicians marched through the ceremonial heart of London as part of the National Music Day celebrations. Thirty-four years later, we invited those same musicians, now very much grown up, to return to The Mall and join us for a special reunion at our Palace Parade Review.

And many answered the call.

What struck us most wasn't simply that they had returned after all these years. It was that so many were still wearing marching band uniforms.

Because they are still marching.

Those young musicians of 1992 have become the instructors, leaders, organisers and volunteers of today. They have spent decades giving their time, sharing their experience and creating opportunities for new generations of young people to enjoy the same experiences that helped shape their own lives.

They haven't simply kept the memories alive. They've kept the music alive.

And that, surely, is what legacy really means.

But there was another rather wonderful chapter to this story.

In 1992, a young Royal Parks employee named Mark Wasilewski helped organise that original National Music Day parade. It was his first event, and one that would become part of a long and distinguished career caring for some of London's most treasured public spaces.

Thirty-four years later, Mark is the Park Manager, and his support, together with that of his colleagues at The Royal Parks, was instrumental in bringing our Palace Parade Review to The Mall in 2026.

We affectionately and appropriately called him 'The Parade Maker'.

It seemed only right, therefore, that Mark should be our special guest as we welcomed the musicians of 1992 back to the very place where their own marching music story had unfolded.

There was something quite extraordinary about seeing the man who helped make that first parade possible standing alongside the people who had marched in it as youngsters, all reunited on The Mall more than three decades later.

And a wonderful reminder that the things we do for young people today can have an influence far beyond anything we might imagine at the time.

To Mark, thank you for helping us make history once again. To our returning alumni, thank you for answering the call, for your years of service to marching music and, above all, for continuing to give back to the communities that gave you your start.

And to everyone who volunteers, teaches, organises, fundraises, transports, encourages and makes marching bands possible: you are the people who turn opportunities into legacies.

That is why National Marching Music Day matters.

That is why marching bands matter.

And that is a legacy worth celebrating. 🇬🇧🎶

06/10/2026

This summer, National Marching Music Day didn’t end when the final band completed the Palace Parade Review. On Horse Guards Parade, things were only just getting started.

Eight drumlines from the United Kingdom and United States stepped into the arena for Drumline London, our head-to-head battle of technical skill, showmanship, performance flair and more than a little friendly one-upmanship.

The rules were deliberately simple. Two drumlines. Opposite sides of the arena. Just 90 seconds to make their mark.

And quite an audience to impress.

Surrounding the arena were many of the 1,700 musicians who had just marched through the ceremonial heart of London in the Palace Parade Review, joined by families, supporters and members of the public. Audience reaction formed part of the judging, and they certainly understood the assignment.

Marching Mizzou, Liberty High School, Gordon’s School Pipes & Drums, The Carolina Band, Bournemouth Youth Marching Band, Medina Marching Band, The Royal British Legion Band and Corps of Drums Romford and Surbiton Royal British Legion Youth Marching Band all entered the battle.

Different ages, different backgrounds and very different traditions. But once two drumlines stood opposite one another, there was a wonderfully universal language at work: rhythm, precision, theatre, attitude and the occasional attempt to outdo whatever had just come from the other side.

Eventually, eight became two.

The final brought together two traditions from opposite sides of the Atlantic: The Royal British Legion Band and Corps of Drums Romford and Marching Mizzou from the University of Missouri.

For one final 90 seconds, Missouri faced Romford across the arena.

Marching Mizzou ultimately prevailed, becoming the winners of the King’s Shield and taking it home across the Atlantic to Missouri.

But some of our favourite images from the day came immediately afterwards. Drumsticks lowered, rivalry finished, hands were shaken and musicians who had spent the afternoon trying to outplay one another were simply musicians again.

A tournament is fun. Winning matters. But put young musicians from different countries, generations and musical traditions together and something else happens too. They watch one another. They challenge one another. They learn from one another. And somewhere amongst all that noise, new friendships are made.

For a few wonderful hours, one of London’s great ceremonial parade grounds became a drumline arena.

Eight drumlines. Two countries. 1,700 fellow musicians. Ninety seconds at a time.

And an awful lot of noise.

Powered by bands. Hosted by London.

Gordon's School Pipes and Drums
Bournemouth Youth Marching Band
Medina Marching Band IW
Friends of Surbiton RBL Youth Marching Band
The Royal British Legion Band & Corps of Drums Romford
Marching Mizzou
The Carolina Bands
LHS Grenadier Band

03/10/2026

Very excited to be in 🇺🇸 with the Royal Marines Corps of Drums and The University of Tennessee Bands - Pride of the Southland Band

See below for details and streaming links.

Go Vols!

Alumni Band Day Schedule for Auburn! 🍊

Welcoming home almost 400 alumni as the Pride of the Southland Alumni Band joins His Majesty’s Royal Marines Corp of Drums - Portsmouth in “Greetings from London.” 🇬🇧

All performances will be streamed via utbands on Facebook!