Steinbrenner Warriors band to march in London for 2024 for New Year's Day parade

LUTZ, Fla. - The Steinbrenner Warriors are preparing to travel across the pond for their UK debut next year. They were officially awarded the opportunity of marching in the London News Year's Day Parade in 2024. 

Steinbrenner High School Band Senior, Joshua Boyles, tells us he knows this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. "It's a big honor to be able to travel across the globe from our humble little high school up in Lutz to really make our name known. It's big an honor that, you know, we've never had an opportunity quite like this."

And if being chosen to play for this parade wasn't enough, to congratulate the Warriors for this honor on behalf London city officials, a relative of Winston Churchill's, Duncan Sandys, came to Lutz to watch these students do what they do best. 

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"Just in this auditorium, they were so entertaining, and I can't wait to see them all out there, all in uniform, performing on the streets of London on New Year's Day," said Sandys. 

Daniel Wood, the Director of Bands for Steinbrenner, says this has been a long time coming for the Warriors, and they are more than excited to play on such a prestigious scale. 

"Back in 2019, the band was invited to perform in the 2020 London New Year's Day Parade and obviously the world stopped in 2020 with COVID. Contacted them, applied, sent our video application/portfolio package in, and we got accepted," Wood said.

Sending all 120 kids oversees will be a tall task when it comes to funding. School officials are projecting the trip to cost around $480,000.  Steinbrenner’s school boosters have made it their goal to raise $250,000, which is a big chunk of the total amount.

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"The fact that you get to collaborate with many great musicians around you, and also I really enjoy playing because it's like it's you can make beautiful sounds" says Steinbrenner Junior Connor Wood.

Having this honor is something the Warriors know not many are awarded, but they look forward to finally getting to play for all of the United Kingdom to hear.

"It's a big honor to be able to travel across the globe from our humble little high school up in Lutz to really make our name known. It's big an honor that, you know, we've never had an opportunity quite like this," added Senior Joshua Boyles.

For those here in the United States, who want to see the Warriors preform live, the parade will be broadcast on PBS.