There will be another first at the upcoming 138th annual Rose Parade.
An LGBTQ+ marching band will be the first-and-only all-queer ensemble of musicians, dancers, flag wavers and baton twirlers to march their way down Colorado Boulevard on Jan. 1, 2027, leaving their mark on Tournament of Roses history.
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The Pride Bands Alliance will consist of 340 performers culled from about 30 community bands from 21 states plus Canada. The entry will be the largest LGBTQ+ massed band of “out, loud and proud” members ever assembled, said the Tournament of Roses.
The choice was made by Terry Madigan, 61, president of the Tournament of Roses for the 2027 parade. Madigan is the first out gay man to lead the iconic Pasadena parade in its 138-year history.
Before, there was the first Latino president, Laura Farber, and then Ed Morales, of Mexican descent, who led the 2025 parade. The first Black president, Gerald Freeny, served from 2018 to January 2019.
Madigan has been very visible about being gay. And his choice of the Pride Bands Alliance extends that tone of diversity to the parade itself.
“People are very excited about seeing this band in the parade. And I am absolutely thrilled,” said Madigan during an interview on Aug. 18.
Madigan, who chose the one-word parade theme “Welcome,” said the Pride band was the most natural fit with the theme.
“The theme is all about belonging,” he said. “I talk about the transitional power of belonging. Everyone needs a support system who accepts them for who they are.”
He and his husband, Kevin Sommerfield, have visited many community gay bands who are sending members to join the composite Pride band on Jan. 1. He has witnessed the comradery during rehearsals, where queer and trans members feel safe and can relax.
“For many, this is a second home for them,” Madigan said. “These may be the only people outside of their family who understand them for who they are. That bond we saw between band members is so familiar.”
Madigan always introduces his husband at these rehearsals and visits, from Ohio to Texas to Florida. The pair has been together 32 years, married 17 years, he said.
“A young man came up to me and said he never heard anybody from a stage introduce their same-sex spouse and how important that visibility was for him,” he remembered.
From California, he didn’t know how to react, since he hadn’t experienced that kind of response before, Madigan said.
Being visible, or out of the closet, is something he sees as important with the Pride Bands Alliance marching in the Rose Parade. That means being seen on television by 30 million viewers in the United States, plus 20 million in 60 countries around the world, for a total of 50 million watching, not including less than 1 million along the parade route.
“I talk about the impact this band will undoubtedly have on young people who are either confused and struggling with their own sexuality. The impact of seeing more than 300 out, proud musicians in the Rose Parade could change lives — and it could save lives,” he said.
Visibility, exposure, costs
At first, the group hesitated.
Almost five years ago, Madigan approached David Doan, who was president of the Pride Bands Alliance. Doan, who lives in Studio City, plays the flute and piccolo in the local Gay Freedom Band of Los Angeles, which last June performed at the L.A. Pride Parade.
“He (Madigan) told me wouldn’t it be awesome for the Gay Pride Band to perform (at the Rose Parade). But we had never done anything of this magnitude. The board initially pushed back, saying we can’t do it,” Doan said. Costs plus worries about exposure during times when the Trump Administration is attacking transgender people and LGBTQ rights accounted for their “no.”
“For many, this is a second home for them. These may be the only people outside of their family who understand them for who they are. That bond we saw between band members is so familiar.” — Terry Madigan, president of the Tournament of Roses
But Doan convinced the group to accept the invitation. After fundraising for the past several months, the Pride Bands Alliance is close to raising $200,000 for new uniforms, buses and operations, Doan said. Each participant will get a $1,000 grant to put toward their expenses, which include lodging, food and airfare, he said.
The Pride Bands Alliance is not unaccustomed to making a big splash. It played in both inaugurations of President Barack Obama, in January 2009 and January 2013, under tight security, for example.
“This group is always up for a challenge,” Doan said. “We capitalize on every opportunity to be more visible. We don’t shy away.”
In 2019 it played in Orlando, Fla., a red state, in a Pride celebration. The group includes members of well-established gay bands from Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. But those gay band community events included 100-150 performers, while on New Year’s Day the Alliance band will have more than double that number.
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“Terry told me how the Rose Parade is so unique. And they’ve never had an openly out president. We could actually be there to support him,” Doan said.
Virtual rehearsals
Getting 300 members from more than 20 states together for rehearsals was not possible. At least not in person.
So Laura Blake, Pride Bands Alliance band director, conducts them from her office computer in Indianapolis, via Zoom.
“We meet monthly with everyone who is coming. We run through our music,” she said. “It’s a little overwhelming, honestly.”
At first, people told her they were worried about security as well as exposure to 50 million viewers on television. And how they’d be received.
Blake, who did logistics for the Bands of America in the previous Rose Parade, said her experience with the Tournament went very well. She was assured security would be sufficient.
“People were concerned maybe we wouldn’t be welcomed. But I told them I’ve been in Pasadena. People will love us. People there celebrate great bands and great floats,” she said.
“Every public gathering has risks, no matter what. This doesn’t pose any higher threat than anything else,” she said.
After the new uniforms came in, things got more serious. They are purple and black, the band’s main colors, with a splash of rainbow colors across the front of the jackets.
Each member has to buy their own black pants and black shoes. And they must pay for lodging and meals. She figures that will cost each one $2,500 to $3,200, plus airfare.
Some have set up GoFundMe accounts. Others are asking friends and family for donations. Some businesses are matching each donation, dollar for dollar, she said.
“People are helping each other. It has been the most intense outpouring of community from within the organization. Plus people are coming out of the woodwork asking how can we help?,” she said.
The band will be performing the song “Family” from the movie “Trolls Band Together (Trolls 3).” A composer from Mississippi she met at a conference heard about the Pride Alliance Band and is arranging the song for the marching band at not cost.
In the song, Justin Timberlake and others sing: “Any color, it doesn’t matter/The way you’re shinin’ on the inside’s all I’m after/A different mama, a different mister/Talk your talk and walk your walk, you know I’m right there with ya./”
“It’s a great song. We might make this song really popular,” Blake said.
Aside from working with straight bands, she’s also the senior director of events for Music For All, a nonprofit that provides music opportunities, hosts marching band competitions and summer camps. But there’s something special about leading the first LGBTQ+ band in the Rose Parade.
As a lesbian, she’s been married to her wife for 18 years. They have a 14-year-old son who, no surprise, plays in his high school marching band.
“It is absolutely more special,” she said. “Just being able to represent the queer community and being out.”
Blake says she’s put out of her mind the size of the Rose Parade viewing audience. She’s seen indications the band members, from ages 20 to 70, are getting ready for the big performance. Some are getting in shape to prepare for the five mile march by forming walking clubs. Some have put band rhythm music into their treadmills.
“We have people who’ve run marathons. And we have a band member wheelchair bound,” she said.
Instead of worrying, she’s put her energies into working with the various community band members. And she’s looking forward to the first in-person rehearsals starting Dec. 27 with the full Pride band. She’s rented space in a hotel ballroom in Burbank and at a nearby college football field.
“To be a part of that is the most amazing quest. We are on a journey,” she said. “I think I will know how I’ll feel about it when it’s done.”
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