Marching Mizzou was the first marching band to lead the 96th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade along the 2.5-mile route.
The parade, which took place in New York City, was broadcast live on NBC and streamed on Peacock from 9 a.m. to noon in all time zones Nov. 24.
The day of the parade, Marching Mizzou had a 3 a.m. dress rehearsal on 34th Street.
“Walking through New York at night … and setting up to start practicing [was] when it really hit me,” said Annabel Carter, clarinet section leader and senior. “It was like … a couple hours from now these streets are going to be packed, all the windows are going to be full of people looking down on us and cheering.”
Marching Mizzou’s 350 members consist of the band, drum line, feature twirlers, color guard and the Golden Girls.
Stepping onto the streets of New York City for the parade, Meg Swords took a moment to take in the colorful confetti, cheering fans and tall skyscrapers.
As a drum major for Marching Mizzou, Swords was in charge of setting the pace and step size for the rest of the band during the parade.
“It felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Swords said. “Everyone I talked to who had participated before just told me to soak it all in and embrace every moment of it.”
Prior to the parade, Marching Mizzou had the opportunity to appear on the TODAY Show on Nov. 23. The band performed in the control room, marched through the studio and performed outside on the plaza. Marching Mizzou surprised Lizzo with a portion of her song, “About Damn Time,” while she was being interviewed remotely.
“We basically took over the TODAY Show,” Director of Athletic Bands Amy M. Knopps said. “[It was] an exciting element to help preview the Macy’s Parade.”
To kick off the parade, Marching Mizzou performed in the opening number featuring the cast of “Funny Girl,” including Lea Michele, former Glee star, who sang “Don’t Rain On My Parade.”
“It was kind of like we were on an episode of Glee,” Knopps said.
The parade started at Central Park West by the American Museum of Natural History and ended at Macy’s Herald Square on 34th Street. Along the way, Marching Mizzou passed Radio City Music Hall and the Rockefeller Center. The band marched behind Tom Turkey and the Gold Macy’s Tri-Star.
“We knew it was going to be a very fast pace,” Swords said. “Most of us were pretty well prepared for that with our workouts and rehearsals leading up to this, but it was very, very fast … We got through the entire parade route in 33 or 35 minutes.”
Along the parade route, Marching Mizzou performed a series of drumline cadences, the fight songs “Every True Son” and “Fight Tiger” as well as a cut time portion of the “Missouri Waltz.”
“It was just so amazing walking out and looking out into the crowd and seeing people’s faces just light up,” said Kaitlin Green, Golden Girl and freshman. “It put a lot of things into perspective. Like wow, this is a huge deal and we’re a part of someone’s holiday and family traditions.”
Swords was pleasantly surprised to see the number of people chanting “Go Marching Mizzou” and “M-I-Z” along the route. For Carter, it meant a lot to be able to perform on a national stage.
“I loved the intensity of it,” Carter said. “This [performance] was really cool just because of the gravity it had and the ability to represent Mizzou on such a huge platform … [and] being able to show the whole world what band we are and what type of university we are.”
After the 2.5-mile march, Marching Mizzou transitioned from the parade block to an NBC production block in which the band performed “All I Wanna Do” by Sheryl Crow, MU School of Music alum.
“We felt, because this was our first time performing in the parade, that we should honor one of our own in our School of Music, so we performed ‘All I Wanna Do,’ ” Knopps said. “[It was] like a mini little halftime show.”
To Swords, the minute and a half performance felt very quick.
“It was definitely the biggest stage we’ve ever been on,” Swords said. “Just the grandeur of the Macy’s Parade, it’s so famous. It’s very selective … The opportunity to be broadcast on national TV … seen by millions and millions of people was something that we’d never experienced before.”
Carter expressed gratitude for the love and support Marching Mizzou has received.
“Growing up as a band kid, sometimes you get the nerdy stereotype and usually you’re not the most popular [person] in school,” Carter said. “But Mizzou is very special because it’s a university that really has a culture of loving … and supporting the band.”
After the feature performance, some members of Marching Mizzou erupted into tears of joy, according to Swords.
“Hitting that last pose and continuing to march down the street off the stage and letting it all sink in was a really great feeling,” Swords said.
Marching Mizzou flew back to Columbia in time to support MU in the rivalry football game against Arkansas.
“We’re keeping the momentum [of Macy’s] going because our season isn’t done yet,” Knopps said.
According to Knopps, between the TODAY Show, the band’s involvement in the opening number and leading the parade itself, Marching Mizzou has earned nearly nonstop national exposure.
“It was an honor to represent our state, our university, and, of course, Marching Mizzou itself,” Knopps said. “This is the 137th year of Marching Mizzou, so we are representing our own history and tradition of excellence … Marching Mizzou has done great things in our history, but [this] is truly one of the hallmark events for our program.”
Edited by Emma Flannery | eflannery@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Emily Rutledge
