Marching Royal Dukes
The Marching Royal Dukes are James Madison University's official marching band. Formed in 1972 (the same year as the football team), the "MRD's" perform at pre-game, halftime and post-game at all home football games, and travel with the team occasionally to perform at away and post-season games. In 1994, the MRD's were the recipients of the Sudler Trophy, the highest honor available for a college marching band. The MRD's are nicknamed "Virginia's Finest", they have performed at venues such as the inaugurations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W.  Bush, the NFC title game between Washington and Dallas in 1983, Bands of America Grand National Championships in 1988 and 1991. The band has made four appearances in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, first in 2001, again in 2008 and 2013, and most recently in 2018. In the past decade, the band has taken trips to Europe during the school's winter break, featuring Athens, Dublin, Monocco, London, Paris, and Rome. In the most recent trip to Europe, the MRD's participated in the 2015 Italian New Year's Day Parade in the Vatican. The Marching Royal Dukes rehearse  in Bridgeforth Stadium, and memorize two shows every year. Each show consisting of arrangements of at least three songs. Their show music consistently spans across a variety of genres, from funk and rock to musicals and movie themes. The second piece of each show always features the Dukettes, the university's four-time NDA champion dance team. The MRD's perform the jazzy JMU Fight Song, along with other iconic MRD tunes during their pregame and post-game performances, in addition to performing countless popular songs during their "stand band" performance throughout all football games. In addition to performances at  JMU's football games, the Marching Royal Dukes record a new CD yearly with selected songs from their show music. During the winter, the MRD's also participate in the annual Harrisonburg Holiday Parade. Marching band is offered as a two-credit applied music class at JMU. As a result, the Marching Royal Dukes continuously retain one of the largest college marching band rosters, sizing up at 493 members in their 2021 season. The MRD's are open to all majors, and to students from local community colleges, and attract membership from students of almost every field of study. Throughout  the year, the Marching Royal Dukes provide support and training to local high school band programs. Every summer, the MRD's host their annual band camp, JMU Summer Band Camps, which welcomes students from across the Mid-Atlantic to attend and train with MRD staff. During fall, the Marching Royal Dukes perform in exhibition at various Virginia high school band competitions. In October, the MRD's host Parade of Champions, a large high school marching band competition in which attracts over 50 bands from across Virginia and other nearby states come to perform and receive scores. Pep Band. During the  basketball season, the JMU Pep Band, performs at all home games, both men's and women's. If either team plays in a postseason tournament, the band travels with them as well. With the men's basketball team winning the 2013 CAA tournament, the Pep Band also traveled with the team to the 2013 NCAA Tournament in Dayton, Ohio playing for two tournament games. The Pep Band is open to all members of the marching band, and has twice been named "Best Pep Band in the East" by Eastern Basketball Magazine. In recent seasons the Pep Band debuted an arrangement  of Start Wearing Purple, a song by the gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello, at basketball games and both the 2013 CAA and NCAA Tournaments. The song has since taken off around campus to the extent that it is now on JMU Athletics billboards, theme music for videos, and starting in the 2013 Football Season, the Marching Royal Dukes presented it as a part of their pre-game show. In 2015, the Pep Band attended the Women's CAA Championship run. Once the team won the game, the coach of the team Kenny Brooks, gave Chad Reep, the pep band director  at the time, the honor of the final person to cut down the net. In May 2017, after a nationwide search, the JMU School of Music announced Amy Birdsong to be the new Assistant Director of the MRDs and Director of the JMU Pep Band.