Mayor Steps In, Clears Way for Texas High School Band to Perform at Sugar Bowl

The Waltrip High School (Garden Oaks, Texas) band will finally be able to perform at the 2025 Sugar Bowl.

The Houston Chronicle reported that the Roaring Red were one of five national teams selected to participate in the big game.

However, the Houston Independent School District did not approve the trip, although the school spent a year raising funds and providing a deposit.

The Chronicle reported that one parent said HISD believed “New Orleans is too dangerous a city to hold a performance.”

“It was an incredible honor and opportunity for these kids,” one parent told the newspaper. “It’s not fair to the kids.”

“How did they determine that New Orleans was more dangerous than other cities? We live in Houston. There is gun violence every day,” they asked.

“The parents were aware of the dangers but they were all in agreement and gave their consent to go.”

Mayor John Whitmire, a Waltrip graduate, offered the group a personal escort from Houston police for the trip, the newspaper said.

“It’s crazy,” the mayor told the Chron in a call Saturday morning. “It’s very fixable. It never should have happened. It was a big mistake. An adult made a mistake,” Whitmire said of HISD North Division Superintendent Orlando Riddick’s decision not to approve the trip.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: Waltrip High School band cleared to perform at Sugar Bowl