2 Iowa Marching Bands Could Win $75,000 From Metallica

Five Division 1 collegiate marching bands have been narrowed down in Metallica's "To Whom the Band Tolls" competition. Out of all of the D1 marching bands in the country, Iowa State University and the University of Iowa both have a chance to win $75,000 from the popular heavy metal band. If you're a fan of either of these schools or their marching bands, they need your help to win!

According to KCRG, time is running out for people to vote for either Iowa marching band, as the contest will finish counting the votes on December 31st. To help either of these schools, check out both of their performances and cast your vote right now at Metallica Marching Band.

The University of Iowa began planning the choreography and which songs to play back in the spring of 2023, and the band began practicing in March.

Nick Feingold is the Mellophone Section Leader for the Iowa Hawkeye marching band and he spoke to KCRG about what it was like trying to pull off their September 30th performance, as the Hawkeyes took on Michigan State.

Every year there’s one or two shows that we get that we are like ‘holy crap, how are we going to pull this off. This was definitely the biggest ‘holy crap, how are we going to pull this off. This was probably the biggest and most extravagant of just the entire nation looking at what we’d been doing. A big theme of this year with everything the Hawkeye marching band has been doing is putting the marching band in the public eye

$75,000 could go a long way for both of these marching bands to continue pushing the envelope on what's possible with their programs moving forward. University of Iowa band director, Eric Bush, spoke to KCRG about this contest and how the prize money could help keep the marching band successful.

In the age of marching band where everything is evolving, we’re always looking for what’s the next thing that we need to stay cutting edge and be successful.

If you're a fan of these incredible performances from either school and want to see more of them in the future, cast your vote before the December 31st deadline!