Marching Bands Make New Plans After Hate Rally Cans Big Contest

NASHVILLE, TN — Hate can't stop the music.

With the National Front's "White Lives Matter" rally planned for Murfreesboro's town square Saturday and rumors of a tiki-torch march to Forrest Hall, Middle Tennessee State University cancelled the 56th annual Contest of Champions, Tennessee's oldest and most prestigious high-school marching band competition, traditionally the capper of the marching season.

That left dozens of marching bands disappointed, but, working in double-time, replacement events are in the works.

In Spring Hill, directors Aaron Evens and Eliot Whittstruck organized The Contest of Resilience with seven bands from Tennessee, two from Alabama and one from Kentucky, all originally scheduled to compete at the MTSU event.

"The first thought was what are we going to do to make it right and how can we fix it," Band Director Aaron Evens told NewsChannel 5. "For most of the groups it's their last contest, last year, last performance," Evens said. "We just wanted to make sure they weren't robbed of that opportunity."

The contest will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday. at Spring Hill High School.

In addition, the Overton, Riverdale and Antioch bands will perform at the Overton Exhibition at Overton High School at 6 p.m. Saturday.

"There's a lot of division in our country and in our world," Antioch's director of bands Chris Janowiak told Fox 17. "It's very awesome being at a high school marching band rehearsal especially in our city. We have so many students with from different ethnic and religious and socioeconomic backgrounds, and they're here. They forget all of that division, and they all come together for one goal and it's super inspiring."

Image via Karen Wall, Patch staff