None of the high school bands in Washington D.C. have signed up to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration. Ballou High School’s Majestic Marching Knights performed at George W. Bush’s inauguration in 2005. They also performed at Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2008. However, they will not be performing at next year’s inauguration. The principal stated that the band had other engagements.
Dunbar High School’s band has also performed at previous inaugurations. They will not be performing at this year’s inauguration because the school needs to have some work done. The Eastern High School Band will not be performing at the inauguration either.
The principal did not give a reason for the band not performing. A spokesperson for the D.C. public high schools has released a statement. He stated that he was not aware that the D.C. bands were not going to perform at the inauguration.
John Newson is the band director at Howard University. He stated that the schools are making up excuses not to perform. He knows the real reason that people do not want to perform, but they do not want to lose their jobs. NBC4 is an organization that organizes trips for bands. They have stated that people are less excited about the inauguration of Donald Trump than they were about the inauguration of President Obama.