NEA Video Including Excelsior Band Released

The Excelsior Band of Mobile is among nine honorees featured in the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) Roots of American Culture: A Cross-Country Visit with Living Treasures of Folk & Traditional Arts, a 68-minute video that can be seenatarts.gov or on YouTube. The film, which showcases the uniquely American panorama of cultures represented by the NEA 2022 National Heritage Fellowship honorees (BBN #101), is the culmination of honoring what NEA calls “our nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.” In selecting Excelsior in June, it said it was honoring “a Black brass marching band that has, for generations, embodied the culture of the city of Mobile and its beloved Mardi Gras celebrations.” As part of the fellowship, the 1883-founded band also received a $25,000 award.