DeKalb band going to Tournament of Roses parade

Before the neo-soul band Saint Paul and the Broken Bones electrified the Fox Theatre Friday, the Martin Luther King, Jr. High School Marching Band brought the crowd to its feet.

The “Kings of Halftime” drumline hit the stage to warm up arriving music fans, then the whole band came out for a few tunes. The occasion?

Martin Luther King, Jr. High School Marching Band has been chosen to march in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade representing Georgia and the DeKalb County School System. Students and parents received word of the band's selection in September, and it has been busy raising more than $400,000 to pay for the trip for the large contingent. It is one of about 20 bands from across the U.S. and the world that made the cut to the Jan. 2 parade.