The marching band at Tennessee State University has made history as the first HBCU to earn a Grammy award. The Aristocrat of Bands not only achieved its goal of winning the Grammy for best roots gospel album with The Urban Hymnal, but it also won for an appearance on J. Ivy’s The Poet Who Sat By the Door.

According to ABC 24, Fred Jones, the man behind the annual Southern Heritage Classic football game, congratulated the HBCU.

“During the 65th Annual Grammys, people around the world were introduced to the amazing talent we’ve had a front-row seat to for the last 33 years at the Classic,” Jones shared in a news release. “May this honor open more doors than ever before, and may TSU continue to blaze more trails for historically Black colleges and universities,” he continued. 

 

Jones commended TSU’s efforts and made a point to emphasize how genuinely respected the university is for the significant achievement. He urged TSU to “revel in this moment.” 

As Blavity mentioned when the band excitedly submitted its album in the hopes of receiving the honor, here we are!  

 

“The journey was tough but very very fulfilling in one of the most powerful moments I think that we all could have ever shared,” Larry Jenkins, assistant director for the Tennessee State University Aristocrat of Bands, expressed.

“A timestamp that documents our roots in gospel music and culture as well, because gospel music goes beyond religion,” Jenkins elaborated on the album. “A masterpiece, and I really think it touches a lot of people because it really just takes you through this span of time.”

Nashville locals are familiar with the sounds of TSU’s Aristocrat of Bands, but this performance gives the rest of the world a taste of something fresh, as pointed out by WKRN. 

Tennessee State University will return to the 34th Southern Heritage Classic on Sept. 9, bringing fan-favorite sounds. We congratulate the band on this momentous occasion!

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