USC and Clemson Bands Unite to Honor S.C.

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Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) –While USC and Clemson’s football teams will take the field as rivals on Saturday their bands will join in harmony at halftime for a special tribute to the Palmetto state. Adversaries on the field, but South Carolinians at heart. All of whom experienced this year’s hardships, from the Charleston Church shooting to the South Carolina floods. “Everybody knows somebody who was immediately impacted by one of these tragedies,” says University of South Carolina Band Director Cormac Cannon. The USC and Clemson bands will join forces during Saturday’s halftime show in tribute to the state’s perseverance through tragedy and disaster. Cannon explains, “Bringing our bands together and using music to really heal and bring people together rather than divide people is really a great statement.” But coordinating a halftime show for 660 band members from hundreds of miles a part is no small task. “So we’ve been able to practice it on our own and then on Saturday morning we’ll have a brief rehearsal where we’ll piece it all together,” says Cannon. Saturday’s show is features music by native South Carolina musicians. Each band will perform one song solo before joining together with a number honoring the Emanuel 9 and a SC Strong finale. “We either bleed garnet or orange in this state but we can see that through music we can come together and do something that’s important to all of us and that we all care about,” Cannon tells ABC Columbia. Saturday’s game will kick of at noon at Williams Brice Stadium.