Dr. Eric Bush conducting the band in Kinnick Stadium

Hello HMB Family!

As I write this, we are nearly to the halfway point in the spring 2025 semester. The Iowa Pep Band is preparing for March Madness, audition registrations for Band 145 are open, and show planning for this fall is under way! It's hard to believe Band 144 is behind us. If you follow the HMB on social media, then you know just how busy the  season was — and we are carrying the momentum with us into next year! A few highlights from the band’s 144th season:

  • Thanks to a generous donation from John F. Allen and family, the HMB debuted its first ever line of bass trombones in Kinnick Stadium!

Bass Trombone players on the field in Kinnick Stadium
Iowa Marching Band holds up a banner of Lisa Bluder during halftime at a football game between Iowa and Troy at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024
Drum Major Brandon Alpers performing during Pregame in Kinnick Stadium
High school drum major conducting the HMB at Quincy High School

  • During our appearance on the Pat McAfee Show in March 2024, Pat shared the tunes he’d pick if we were to do a tribute show to him. We premiered the Pat McAfee Halftime Show at this year’s CyHawk game, and it earned us a glowing review from Pat and friends on his show the following week.

  • The HMB celebrated the legendary Coach Lisa Bluder with a halftime show in her honor in the September 19 game vs. Troy, and then welcomed Coach Bluder to an HMB rehearsal afterward, where she shared her thanks and appreciation for the band.

  • We welcomed back more than 300 marching Hawkeye alumni took back the field for Homecoming this year, and honored Professor Emeritus Kevin Kastens with a special post-game joint performance of the HMB and the Iowa Alumni Marching Band in “Thriller,” an iconic arrangement from his years as director.

  • We performed in an exhibition performance at Quincy High School in Quincy, Illinois. We love connecting with future marching Hawkeyes!

  • The band had a great time in Nashville for this year’s Music City Bowl. We got to meet up with our friends from the Marching Mizzou for lunch in St. Louis en route to Nashville, and then shared a really fun performance downtown on Broadway for the Music City Bowl’s Battle of the Bands! While the final score of the game may not have been what we all hoped to see, we still had a great time representing our university and Hawkeye Nation on the big stage.

Quads player in downtown Nashville

 

The Hawkeye Drumline is excited to make the switch next year to Pearl drums, and we can’t wait to premiere these new instruments on the field. We are excited to announce that, through a partnership with West Music, our Black & Gold Drumline and Alumni Band Drumline will be be performing on brand new Pearl drums, as well! Thanks to the many donors who stepped up to make this happen!

As always, thank you for your continued support and the enthusiasm you share for everything we do in the Hawkeye Marching Band! Our success is tied directly to the dedication and generosity of our HMB family!

On Iowa, and Go Hawks!

Dr. Eric W. Bush
Director of the Hawkeye Marching Band