History
The Excelsior Band© has a rich and colorful history rooted in the tradition of carnival, Mobile and the Gulf Coast. The Excelsior Band© has been performing in the Mobile, the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the United States, area since 1883. The Excelsior Band©, founded by John A. Pope, for the birth of his son, continues to perform and is recognized as ambassadors for the City of Mobile.
The Excelsior Band© is well known for performing during Mardi Gras parades often leading the parades.
The band plays many genres of music with emphasis on Dixieland and conventional jazz. The band performs regularly along the Gulf Coast at weddings, receptions jazz, funerals, conventions, and parades, etc. The Excelsior Band© is a ten-piece marching brass band that consists of three trumpets, three saxophones, one trombone, a tuba, bass drum and snare drum. The group also performs as a quintet, as requested for smaller events, e.g. birthday parties, wedding receptions, conventions, etc.
The musical hodge-podge that makes up the Excelsior medley floats in the swing of Carnival cheer with such favorites as “Margie”, “Hello Dolly”, “St. Louis Blues, “South Rampart Street Parade: and of course, “When the Saints Go Marching In”.
The Excelsior Band© received the 2013 Alabama Folk Heritage Award presented by the Alabama Council on the Arts. The band also received the 2016 Mobile Chapter of the NAACP Image Award.
The Excelsior Band© is also a proud member of the:
The Excelsior Band© is also a proud member of the:
The Mobile Chamber of Commerce
Mobile Bay Convention and Visitor's Bureau
