Purdue “All-American” Marching Band Helps IMS Celebrate 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500

Marching in the footsteps of 97 years of band students preceding them, more than 250 members of the Purdue “All-American” Marching Band will take center stage at the 100th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on Sunday, May 29, when they play for the race’s opening ceremonies.

On Race Day, the Purdue “All-American” Band will be the headliner in the traditional Parade of Bands that begins at 8:00 am at the track. Each year, Purdue invites bands across the United States to participate in the event, which is dominated by high school musicians. This year, 13 bands from across the state of Indiana, Washington, and Florida will be joining the Purdue Band. As it has done for many years, the band will play “On the Banks of the Wabash,” as well as play entertaining music for the mass crowd prior to the start time.
It was the marching band’s first director, Paul Spotts Emrick, who forged the initial relationship with the Indianapolis 500 in 1919, the race’s ninth year of existence. Always interested in promoting his band and Purdue, Emrick leapt at the chance to be associated with the young race that was quickly establishing an international reputation. At that time, the band was a military unit of men enrolled in Reserve Officer Training Corps at Purdue University.

Purdue’s band will again be featured in the IPL 500 Festival Parade at noon Saturday, May 28, which begins at North and Pennsylvania, and winds its way through downtown Indianapolis. The 500 Festival Parade was added to the race month activities in 1957 and the Purdue “All-American” Marching Band has appeared in every parade since then.