Pride of Mississippi Marching Band to Kick Off Season with Free Concert

The University of Southern Mississippi's Pride of Mississippi Marching Band and the Dixie Darlings will kick off the 2025 football season with Pride Preview, set for 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, at Southern Station behind the Thad Cochran Center on the Hattiesburg campus. The concert is free and open to the public.

Under the direction of Dr. Travis Higa, the event serves as the traditional opening to the Golden Eagle football season. The Pride will perform its pregame show along with a special preview performance of its first halftime show. 

“These students have worked incredibly hard to prepare multiple shows under extreme weather conditions,” said Higa. “Students in The Pride of Mississippi are dedicated Golden Eagles and one of the best representations of the university.”

Regarded as one of the nation’s finest university marching bands, The Pride has performed in Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Green Bay, Wis., and throughout Mississippi for competitive band contests, festivals and professional football games, as well as internationally in Ireland for the Saint Patrick’s Day celebration.

Since its founding in 1920 as a 20-piece brass ensemble, The Pride of Mississippi has evolved into a highly respected marching band of more than 300 members. The band has performed at President Franklin Roosevelt’s inaugural parade, the Chicago World’s Fair, the Senior Bowl Classic football games, Blue-Gray football games, and professional football games. During the 1970s and 1980s, it was one of the most televised marching bands in the South.

Unlike many bands of earlier eras, The Pride was not limited to a traditional brass and woodwind instrumentation. In the 1950s, the band was accompanied by a bagpipe ensemble and the Southern Belles dance/drill team, and later the Dixie Darlings.

The event will be canceled in the event of extreme weather.