Big Red in the Big Apple: Remembering the Big Red Marching Machine at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Twenty-five years ago, around 46 million television viewers were treated to a melodic feast served up by Illinois State University’s Big Red Marching Machine during the 72nd Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The red and white-clad 270-member ensemble brightened up the wet and gloomy Thanksgiving morning in Manhattan, on November 26, 1998, with their spirited performance that left parade goers craving seconds.

“I think the Macy’s Parade is something that every child watches as they grow up,” said Dr. Nicole (Parisot) Grant ’99. She was a junior in the color guard who is now a pulmonary and critical care surgeon with the Yale School of Medicine. “To be part of the Macy’s Parade makes it that much more special and almost surreal.”

As the designated “Santa band,” the Big Red Marching Machine (BRMM) appeared at the end of the nearly three-hour parade, just ahead of Santa’s sleigh. BRMM’s two-and-a-half-minute performance across the giant red Macy’s star in Herald Square included contemporary versions of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

During the telecast, the band could be heard for another minute playing Sleigh Ride as NBC’s cameras shifted their focus to Santa, who was ushered in by Illinois State’s color guard and dance team—wearing Santa hats.

“The weather was cold and rainy, but it didn’t take anything away from our enthusiasm,” recalled Josh Palmer ’02, a freshman baritone player who now lives in Greenville, South Carolina, and works in information technology (IT). “My favorite memories are with my friends as we explored the city and saw the beginning of the Christmas season in beautiful NYC.”

BRMM’s journey to Manhattan and the national spotlight began in spring 1998 when Dan Farris, Illinois State’s assistant director of bands at the time, submitted an application and audition tape to Macy’s. Of more than 300 marching bands that applied, only 12 were selected—including Big Red, the only four-year collegiate band to make the cut.

“I felt the group was reaching a high level, and I was just searching for something that would give us more recognition and get the Illinois State brand out there,” said Farris, BRMM’s director from 1988-2000. “I think it did that and more. We’re still talking about it 25 years later.”

Farris and his colleagues developed a routine that the band began practicing on North Parkside Road in front of recently opened Normal Community West High School. BRMM imagined that the five-lane road was Broadway in New York leading into Herald Square. They set up cones to represent the square’s precise measurements and counted the exact number of steps to center the band on the Macy’s logo.

“The length of the band in our parade formation and the distance we needed to travel, literally two city blocks combined, warranted a long stretch of road,” Farris said. BRMM also practiced at Hancock Stadium and performed the routine during football postgame shows.

But just six weeks before Thanksgiving Day, Farris had to change the program when Big Red was selected as the parade’s esteemed “Santa Band.”

“I think they liked the quality of the audition video we submitted—the energy of the performance, the size of the band, the dance line, the flags, and of course, our colors didn’t hurt, being red and white,” Farris said.

He contacted band directors who previously appeared in the Macy’s Parade for advice. They encouraged him to focus on how the routine would appear on TV from NBC’s various camera angles.

“I viewed some performances from previous years and kept all that in mind when I was charting out our routine,” Farris said. “It wound up being a pretty simple marching routine, but it came off very effectively.”

The day before the parade, a traveling party of about 270 students, 75 family and friends, and 15 band staff loaded onto charter buses and made the 19-hour drive from Normal to a hotel in Newark, New Jersey. Band members squeezed in a few hours of sleep before waking up at 2:45 a.m. Thanksgiving Day to bus to Manhattan for a 4:15 a.m. parade rehearsal.

“I was surprised and overwhelmed by the stillness of NYC, especially during the early-morning rehearsal at Herald Square, or when lining up in parade order at the edge of Central Park,” said Laura (Murphy) Holtz ’00, a junior tenor saxophonist who is now a clinical research associate with Yale University. “This version of the city was so different than the one I had expected, having never been to NYC before.”

After a few run-throughs, the entire band ate breakfast at the Hard Rock Cafe around 6 a.m. and lined up at the intersection of 86th Street and Central Park West at 8:30 a.m. They marched through a persistent rain for the parade’s entire two-and-a-half-mile route lined by more than 2 million spectators.

But as Big Red approached Herald Square, Farris noticed the rain let up and the sky begin to brighten. “Take off your rain ponchos,” he yelled to the band.

“Everyone’s passing their ponchos down the line, and the NBC producer says, ‘You gotta go now!’ The last kid dumped his poncho, I blew the whistle, and the band went on,” Farris said. “We couldn’t have had one more second to spare, literally. And then, the band killed it.”

As BRMM hit the first notes of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Farris took his position just behind the TV cameras. During the next three minutes, he watched months of practice pay dividends for Big Red on the national stage.

“We held our form pretty well,” Farris said. “And then, we hit our mark—the drumline and the dancers were centered on that Macy’s logo. When you watch the video, there’s the aerial shot, and then there it is. Boom! We stop, and the drumline moves back, and you can see the dancers moving. Once that was done, the band was playing well, and I knew the rest of the routine was going to be great.”

While Big Red wrapped up the routine, Farris took in the “surreal” moment—still one of the best of his 40-plus-year career.

“Looking at everyone’s faces, they were very prideful, and you could see the amount of joy in performing there,” Farris said. “For me, that’s why I do what I do.”

With their performance complete, the band stayed in New York City for two more days of sightseeing. BRMM students visited the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and attended shows on Broadway. They departed Saturday at midnight and returned to Normal Sunday evening with an experience that’s bonded Big Red members for 25 years and counting.

Kevin Taylor ’99, a senior trumpet player who is now a software engineer in Normal, said the best part of the trip was sharing the experience with friends including his future wife, Lindsey (Gibson) ’01, who was also in the band.

The seemingly once-in-a-lifetime experience happened again for Taylor when he returned to perform in the 2014 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps Alumni Band, which also served as the “Santa Band.”

“Being back there again and performing certainly brought back a lot of fun memories from 1998,” Taylor said. “I felt like I was in college again.”

Holtz also returned to the Macy’s Parade, not to perform, but to watch her child, Izzy, play the mellophone for the Carmel High School (Indiana) Marching Band last year.

“I was definitely more nervous watching as a parent than as a college-aged marcher,” Holtz said. “I was hopeful that the kids were taking it all in, creating memories, and enjoying the beautiful day—knowing the memories would last a lifetime.”

While Big Red made Illinois State’s first appearance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, it wasn’t the last. In 2019, the Gamma Phi Circus represented the Redbirds during a Macy’s Parade performance with Grammy, Emmy, and two-time Tony Award winner Billy Porter.

This year, BRMM alum Dr. Melissa Gustafson-Hinds ’94, is leading the O’Fallon Township High School Marching Band in the Macy’s Parade as the band’s director.

Farris said he and his family will be watching intently from their home in Evanston while inevitably reminiscing about 1998, when Big Red played the Big Apple.

“I’m still proud of our performance,” Farris said. “The routine and the music—it holds up pretty well 25 years later.”