Lexington throws a mean Fourth of July bash downtown and puts on a decent parade. There were some spacing issues during the parade at times (blame should be laid squarely on the parade marshal – he was riding back and forth in a golf cart, so there was no excuse) and there were some groups that I’m not sure who they were (again, the marshal should make sure that everyone has a banner, flag or some other means of identifying who they are), but the big disappointment was the lack of a proper marching band.
Yes, there was the pipes and drums squad up front and they were great, and yes they had that crazy March Madness Marching Band that dresses in wild costumes and puts on a good show. But every respectable Fourth of July parade needs a fully uniformed, military style marching band bringing up the rear.
I was a percussionist in my high school days. We all took marching band very seriously and we lived for parades! We were outfitted in full, old school military style uniforms with cross belts, tails, etc and we loved it! There is just something regal about a uniformed band marching in crisp lines, bringing up the end of the parade and stopping at attention to close it out right with a Sousa march.
I’d suggest any of the John Philip Sousa classics such as Semper Fidelis (listen), Stars and Stripes Forever (listen) or my personal favorite The Washington Post (listen). Follow the links and listen to one of these right now and I guarantee that it will get your patriotic juices flowing!
