Band Shoppe & Drillmasters Join with USBands

USBands is proud to announce a three-year partnership with Band Shoppe and Drillmasters to support the growth of the marching and pageantry arts with a focus on the ever-expanding fall marching band and indoor activities nationwide. 

Beginning with the 2024 Fall Marching Band Season, Band Shoppe and Drillmasters will become the official Marching Essentials and Marching Shoe partner of USBands, the Western Band Association (WBA), and Mid-Atlantic Indoor Network (MAIN) and will enjoy exclusive messaging and branding opportunities online and onsite at 200 events annually. 

 Band Shoppe, a pillar in the marching arts community, offers a full selection of marching essentials for all marching bands, directors, and performers, including gloves, guard equipment, and integral performance accessories. When combined with Drillmasters, a premier manufacturer of marching shoes, the two provide an ideal partner for educators to source all their design and performance needs. 

 “For over 50 years, Band Shoppe has proudly supported music education and the marching arts. Our partnership with USBands, an organization that shares our deep commitment to these values, strengthens our ability to serve both performers and educators. By working together, we can offer a wider range of high-quality products that enhance not only the performance experience but also the educational journey. This collaboration is a meaningful step toward empowering the next generation of musicians and fostering excellence in the marching arts”, said Jay Pearison, President of Band Shoppe. “We are proud to be partnered with USBands and excited for the opportunity to extend our reach by sharing our mission to provide the marching art athlete with best-in-class marching footwear. Drillmasters innovated the original Rolled-Heel marching shoe to assist music educators with the instruction and guide young performers in executing corps-style glide step. We still follow that guiding principle today as we look to the future and the next generation of performance marching footgear”, said Bob O’Brien, President of Drillmasters.

USBands Executive Director Sean King said in announcing the new partnership, "We are especially proud to welcome Band Shoppe and Drillmasters to the growing USBands family of partners as they serve educators and students by providing the highest quality essentials, including gloves, equipment, and marching shoes to ensure the best performance possible, whether at a USBands, WBA or MAIN event or in their halftime or local hometown parade performances. We are committed to meeting music programs wherever they are competitively, creatively, and geographically. Band Shoppe and Drillmaster match us with that dedication by providing quality products and service to serve the needs of music educators coast-to-coast." 

 Band Shoppe and Drillmasters will be represented at nearly 130 USBands fall marching band competitions in 2024 and educational events in 2025, as well as being a key partner in the 25 WBA marching band competitions held in California, in addition to the 30 MAIN Indoor Guard events along the Mid-Atlantic region. Combined, Band Shoppe and Drillmaster will support the more than 800 marching programs, which participate each year throughout the combined schedules of all three organizations. 

 Additionally, Band Shoppe and Drillmaster will be featured during the summer of 2025 throughout a series of single and multi-day USBands educational camps, clinics, and workshops featuring DCI ensembles, special guests, and clinicians. Details on this series of events to be held coast-to-coast will be announced later this fall. 

 Since 1970, Band Shoppe proudly continues a tradition of quality products, prompt delivery, and outstanding customer service to music educators and guard instructors around the globe. Their product line is one of the largest and most inclusive in the industry, providing essentials for Band, Guard, Flags, Percussion, Parade, and Field. To learn more about Band Shoppe please visit bandshoppe.com.

Drillmasters was launched in 1985 to solve the challenge of creating comfortable athletic marching band shoes with the flexibility of dance shoes, built to endure the demands of corps-style marching. Featuring the innovative Rolled-Heel® design, which helps students learn and perform more effectively, this design was awarded patent protection. While styles of drill, marching, and show design have evolved over the past 30+ years, Drillmasters has remained the trusted standard. To learn more about Drillmasters please visit drillmastersmarching.com 

 Since its first event in 1988, USBands has supported the development of scholastic performing ensembles through exceptional service, high-quality adjudication, and world-class venues. Over the past 35 years, USBands has expanded to include hundreds of scholastic music programs in 150+ marching band and indoor events nationwide. USBands is part of a network of pageantry arts organizations, including BD Performing Arts, Western Band Association, Mid- Atlantic Indoor Network, and other regional service organizations. More information on the complete portfolio of events and experiences for educators and student-performers can be found at usbands.org.