The West Harrison High School Hurricane Band is a musical ensemble originating from West Harrison High School, located in Gulfport, Mississippi. The band, consisting of 215 students in grades 9-12, regularly scores All-Superior ratings in concert, sight reading and marching on the state level, as well as multiple finishes as Class 5A marching band finalists and medalists. The band describes itself as "Big, bold and mighty", much like a real hurricane. They are still a relatively young band, founded in 2009, years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Mississippi coastline. The band is comprised of over 200 students out of approximately 900 in the entire school, and in addition to taking part in the 2017 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, they've also taken part in many other big parades, including the 2020 Tournament of Roses Parade and many local parades in and around the state of Mississippi.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
They've made their debut at the 91st Macy's Parade performing "Enterprising Young Man" from the 2009 movie Star Trek. Additionally, footage of the band's announcement at West Harrison High School was shown during the broadcast, showing the students' priceless reaction to the announcement as described by Matt Lauer.