Photo by William H. Kelly III
Cameron Adams
Editor-In-Chief
After weeks of negative headlines surrounding Jackson State University, the Sonic Boom of the South has acted as a beacon of hope throughout this year.
Just two months into the year, the Boom has made history, headlining in multiple star-studded events.
From the alumni band members opening for Drake, to current members performing on the grandest stage of football with Usher, TSBOTS has been booked and busy making history with their talents.
The Boom began their “world tour” in Newark, N.J at the Third Annual Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic hosted by actor Michael B. Jordan. This event was broadcasted by TNT Sports on Feb. 3, 2024.
The Legacy Classic is a basketball tournament created to celebrate Historically Black Colleges/Universities and highlight their one of a kind culture. This year was the first year that teams in the Southwestern Athletics Conference (SWAC) were invited (Jackson State and Grambling).
Not only were HBCU teams asked to participate, but also their respective bands which included The Sonic Boom of the South.
Two days later, on Feb. 5, 2024, the Boom took their talents back home to Jackson, Miss. to welcome #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author, Tabitha Brown. TSBOTS performed for her highly anticipated “I Did A New Thing” Birthday Tour.
The Jackson crowd was recognized as the largest sold-out venue in Brown’s nine-city tour. Jacksonians and tourists packed out the Jackson Convention Complex to witness “Auntie Tab’s” night of festivities.
During the ceremony, Brown was surprised with one of the biggest gifts ever, wrapped in blue, white, and Tiger Pride.
Her friend, and moderator of the evening, Lakeysha Hallmon, Ed.D, set up a guest appearance from the Sonic Boom of the South, and the crowd was electric. As thousands of supporters screamed JSU’s adopted rendition of “Get Ready” and Brown’s infamous line “Very Good!”, she was brought to tears by the performance.
Then on Feb. 8, 2024, Jackson State social media was lit on fire after the rumors that Sonic Boom members performed with rap icon Drake were confirmed.
Drake launched his collaboration tour with J Cole “It’s All A Blur – Big as the What?” tour on Feb. 2 in Tampa, Fla. The tour expectations were already through the roof, but when fans heard the signature sound of “Thee Baddest Band in the Land” the Amalie arena exploded.
Fans were not one hundred percent sure that it was the Boom, so the rumors began to spread like wildfire.
According to JSU Newsroom, it was Christopher “CJ” Gibson, Drake’s road manager, a graduate of Jackson State and a former member of the Boom, who extinguished the rumors, confirming that an extension of the Summa Cum Laude of bands was touring with the superstar.
Any normal band would be more than satisfied with ending their year with those three events on their resume. Luckily the Sonic Boom of the South has never been a normal band.
The Boom somehow topped all of their performances combined on Feb. 11, 2023, appearing at the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show headlined by Usher in Las Vegas, Nev.
Although what happens in Vegas usually stays in Vegas, the Boom put on a performance that had to be shared across the world.
This performance was the highlight of the year for Jackson State University after a recent string of negative media coverage surrounded the school.
Courtney Brammer, a junior psychology major from Atlanta, Ga. and member of the Sonic Boom, claimed that the school was in need of this positive light.
“I believe this performance was something positive the school needed and deserved with the rich history and traditions JSU has to offer,” stated Brammer.
With the lights of the Super Bowl being much brighter than any other stage, Brammer explained that she felt the pressure to be perfect. However, she claimed that perfection is nothing new for the Sonic Boom of The South.
“Of course there was more pressure for perfection because of the larger audience, yet it truly felt like any other performance to me,” stated Brammer. “We just do like we do at home, practice til we can’t get it wrong.”
Brammer shared that the preparation for the performance was nothing like her usual practices.
“We went to Vegas for 10 days for preparation and it definitely wasn’t like regular practices,” claimed Brammer. “We were in the stadium for about 6 hours a day and only practiced about 2-5 run throughs of the show each time. We had limited time to fix things on the field so we had to always be flexible with changes and adjustments they made for each run through.”
With these multiple star-studded performances in the past, the Boom is still not done yet. They are set to perform during the halftime show of the HBCU Legacy Bowl in New Orleans, La. on Feb. 24, 2024.
And still that is not it for the Boom. According to JSU Public Relations, The Sonic Boom and the Prancing J-Settes are on their way to another grand stage – the 136th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025.
