It’s a long way from Homewood to Hollywood. That’s essentially the trip that the Homewood, Alabama High School Patriots Band made this week.
The 375-member band is marching in the 2026 Rose Parade. The eyes of the nation will be on the Pasadena parade and the Patriot band on New Year’s Day.
The Patriot Band has been there before.
How do you tell if the judges and officials think a high school band performs well in the Rose Parade? The band gets invited back.
The Homewood band has marched in the Rose Parade three times before, so obviously the officials are more than pleased with their performance.
This year’s parade will be different and more significant than the Homewood Band’s previous three trips to Pasadena. That’s because their state’s namesake university is playing in the 2026 Rose Bowl.
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team takes on the top-ranked Indiana Hoosiers in the 3 p.m. Rose Bowl game. This year, the game is more than just any ordinary Rose Bowl. It’s also an elimination game in the College Football Playoffs.
For the winner, it means a trip to the semi-finals on the way toward a potential national championship. For the loser, it means the end of a pretty good season and a return home.
The Rose Parade starts Thursday at 10 a.m. CST. The Homewood band is the number two band in the parade, so you better tune in early.
Why isn’t Homewood the number one band, which is quite an honor? They’ve been the number one band in a previous year’s Rose Parade, so someone else gets the anchor position this year.
Since the parade is early on the morning of New Year’s Day following the previous night of celebration, better have the coffee pot ready to go so you can enjoy your cup while awaiting the Homewood Band to round the corner onto Colorado Boulevard and into the national spotlight.
It’s the 137th Rose Parade. The parade will air live from 10 a.m. to noon Alabama time on ABC and NBC and will stream on Peacock. The first hour will also livestream on TikTok starting at 10 a.m.
Some networks will air pre-parade festivities one hour before the start of the parade. Following the parade, the Rose Bowl football game kicks off at 3 p.m. CST.
Founded in 1972, the Homewood Patriot Band is located at Homewood High School in Homewood, Alabama just over the mountain from Birmingham, Alabama. The Homewood Patriot Band prides itself on tradition.
Since its inception, band members have worn the same timeless red, white, and blue patriot uniform and iconic tricornered hat while representing their community in parades across America and Europe.
The Homewood High Band is the largest high school band in the state of Alabama.
With the Homewood Band in the Rose Parade and the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl game, it is Alabama Day in Pasadena and on national TV.
The Rose Parade is annually the most-watched parade, and the Crimson Tide is consistently the most-watched football team in America.
Jim Zig Zeigler is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. His beat includes the positive and colorful about Alabama – her people, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former State Auditor and Public Service Commissioner. You can reach him at [email protected].
