‘Battle of the Bands’ brings HBCU pageantry to College Football Hall of Fame

In swirls of bold, sharp colors from marker and acrylic on unstretched canvases, Keith Duncan’s collection of 44 illustrations in “Battle of the Bands” depicts the multiple stages of the pageantry at historically Black colleges and universities.

There is no music inside “Battle of the Bands” exhibition, but it can almost be heard.

Unveiled at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta Thursday, drum majors flex acrobatic moves and their leadership across fields.

Saucy attitudes radiate from trumpet players.

Clarinet and saxophone players get low and funky with their woodwinds.

Majorettes twirl batons with gleaming smiles.

Percussionists, steady in strength, maintain the heartbeat of the operation.

Joshua Owens takes photos of artist Keith Duncan’s exhibit “Battle of the Bands,” inspired by HBCU band culture, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on Sept. 11, 2026. Duncan utilizes bright colors to convey the competition and pageantry between the bands. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Midair choreography. Back bends. Leaps across multiple bandmates. Flexible knees and ankles only a contortionist could manage.

There’s a parade of colorful shakos.

The bright visuals break audio barriers. Sounds ring through the colors. A crowd cheers.

“(HBCU marching bands) create an energy that can be felt throughout the stadium, and a legacy that reaches beyond it,” said College Football Hall of Fame President & CEO Kimberly Beaudin. “This exhibit gives that legacy the spotlight it deserves.”

The artist’s vision

Duncan believes HBCU bands are reminiscent of ancestral performances.

He said the bands intertwine creativity and tradition, like West African spiritual ceremonies and routines for community leaders.

He likens the precision of drum majors to the discipline of African warriors.

“It’s very symbolic,” Duncan said.

Though he didn’t attend an HBCU himself, the New Orleans native has chosen to spend the latter part of his career translating the music and showmanship from the marching bands into vibrant works of art.

Duncan said he discovered HBCU marching bands while attending college at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. During homecoming season, the nearby HBCU Southern University held its Battle of the Bands competition.

“It was never about the football game,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Everybody wanted to see the halftime show, and that blew me away.”

Rudy George checks out artist Keith Duncan’s exhibit “Battle of the Bands,” inspired by HBCU band culture, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on Sept. 11, 2026. Duncan utilizes bright colors to convey the competition and pageantry between the bands. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

However, it took Duncan decades to translate that experience into his own form of art.

Duncan was always interested in the music scene. Living in New Orleans gave him access to brass bands and second-line parade performances.

Duncan found in HBCU marching bands the same vibrancy he grew up hearing in New Orleans street music.

He began the HBCU series in 2022.

Duncan spends time studying each team’s uniform and costume pieces, from the majorettes’ leotards to the drum majors’ busbies.

At 62, the artist said he has learned to juggle several illustrations at one time, like “an assembly line.”

His larger, more intricate drawings can take about two months to complete.

Then, different-colored backgrounds serve as the base under each HBCU illustration. Behind every marching band performer, varied patterns and designs complement their uniforms.

A closeup view of a piece in artist Keith Duncan’s exhibit “Battle of the Bands,” inspired by HBCU band culture, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on Sept. 11, 2026. Duncan utilizes bright colors to convey the competition and pageantry between the bands. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Drawing on Black American quiltmaking traditions, Duncan said the patterns pay homage to his heritage.

“It was a departure from just painting on canvas,” Duncan said. “I wanted to add another element that dealt with something tied to my Southern roots.”

More than halftime

At HBCUs, the band is a vital part of the football experience.

Duncan said tradition, legacy and history are on display throughout the Hall of Fame.

But “Battle of the Bands” extends that football experience to art and cultural inheritance.

A piece from artist Keith Duncan’s exhibit “Battle of the Bands,” inspired by HBCU band culture, is on display at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on Sept. 11, 2026. Duncan utilizes bright colors to convey the competition and pageantry between the bands. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

“This is where art and sports merge,” Duncan said. “Competition of the bands is a form of sport. ... Teamwork, discipline and commitment (are) essential.”

Southern Company Chairman & CEO Chris Womack, a sponsor of the “Battle of the Bands,” said the exhibition gave the College Football Hall of Fame the opportunity to recognize another side of football culture.

“We wanted to make sure that there was representation here in the hall,” he said. “Nothing’s more exciting than marching bands.”

If you go

Keith Duncan: Battle of the Bands Art Exhibition: The HBCU Marching Bands Series