Two Pasadena Bands and One Ensemble Among 21 Selected for 2027 Rose Parade

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association announced 21 marching bands for the 138th Rose Parade on New Year’s Day 2027, a lineup that includes three Pasadena-based ensembles along with bands from across the nation and from three countries.

The announcement, made on National Marching Band Day (March 4), puts Pasadena’s own musicians at the center of the January 1 parade down Orange Grove and Colorado boulevards.

Pasadena City College’s Tournament of Roses Honor Band and the Herald Trumpets (considered a separate, dedicated unit)  — both parade fixtures since 1930 — will return alongside the Pasadena Unified School District All Star Band, a 120-member ensemble that earned its spot through the Tournament’s competitive Music Committee selection for the first time in recent memory, according to a Tournament of Roses press release.

The PCC Honor Band has marched in every Rose Parade since 1930 and carries the designation of the parade’s official band, according to the PCC Bands program. The Herald Trumpets, an elite unit of nine trumpeters and one snare drummer, announce the Rose Court each year.

The PUSD All Star Band draws 120 students from the district’s four high schools — Pasadena High, Blair, Marshall, and Muir — each contributing a drum major. In 2022, a smaller PUSD band of 45 students marched by special invitation. This time, the band was selected through the Tournament’s rigorous application process, something a PUSD band had not accomplished in decades, according to the Pasadena Star-News.

“It gives those kids a chance to march down Colorado Blvd., and there really aren’t that many people who have done it,” Karen Klages, director of the PUSD All-Star Band, said in an interview with ABC7.

Beyond the Pasadena entries, the 2027 lineup stretches from Blue Springs, Missouri, to Jonesboro, Georgia, to Santa Clara, California. International bands will travel from Puebla, Mexico; Kyoto, Japan; and Alajuelita, Costa Rica. The lineup also includes the LAUSD All District High School Honor Band, the U.S. Marine Corps West Coast Composite Band, and the Salvation Army Tournament of Roses Band, which has marched in every parade since 1920, according to the Salvation Army.

The Pride Bands Alliance, based in Washington, D.C., will also march. The organization says it will be the first LGBTQ+ community group in the parade’s 138-year history, according to a statement on the group’s website.

The parade’s 2027 theme is “Welcome,” selected by Tournament of Roses President Terry Madigan, who has been visiting each band to deliver the selection news in person. Madigan, a volunteer member of the Association since 1993, has described the cost of participating as averaging $2,000 to $2,500 per band member, with bands beginning fundraising efforts immediately after selection, according to the Pasadena Star-News.

“Just marching down Colorado Boulevard in front of 700,000 people is more than most of these bands will ever do,” Madigan said in a December interview with the Pasadena Star-News.

Bands are selected by a committee of the Association’s volunteer members based on musicianship, marching ability, and entertainment or special interest value, according to the Tournament. Two additional university bands will join the lineup in December when the teams for the 113th Rose Bowl Game, presented by Prudential, are determined.

The full list of the 21 selected bands: Aguiluchos Marching Band, Puebla, Mexico; Asahi University and Gifushogyo High School, Kyoto, Japan; Banda CEDES Don Bosco, Alajuelita, Costa Rica; Blue Springs High School Marching Band, Missouri; Carmel High School Marching Band, Indiana; Falcon Marching Band of Bowling Green State University, Ohio; LAUSD All District High School Honor Band, Los Angeles; Pasadena City College Herald Trumpets; Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band; Pasadena Unified School District All Star Band; Pride Bands Alliance, Washington, D.C.; Rosemount High School Marching Band, Minnesota; Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps, California; The Clovis High School Golden Cougar Marching Band and Color Guard, California; The Majestic Marching Cardinals of Jonesboro High School, Georgia; The Marching Southerners of Jacksonville State University, Alabama; The Salvation Army Tournament of Roses Band, Carson, California; Timber Creek High School Falcon Band, Fort Worth, Texas; and the United States Marine Corps West Coast Composite Band, San Diego.

Bands interested in the 2028 Rose Parade can apply at tournamentofroses.com/about/apply.

“It’s a moment they will remember for the rest of their life,” Klages told the Pasadena Star-News about what the parade means for student musicians. “That’s not an exaggeration.”