Collegiate Marching Band Festival Information

The Collegiate Marching Band Festival, also called the CMBF, is an annual event held in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States, which showcases college and university marching bands of all sizes and styles from across the Northeastern United States. First held in 1996, the event typically takes places in early October at J. Birney Crum Stadium, a renowned venue for marching band and drum corps performances. The festival is not a competition, but rather an opportunity for fans and band members alike to view bands that perform a variety of shows and exhibit different performance styles.

The festival is currently managed by Vivace Productions, Inc. out of West Chester, PA

While many of the participating bands perform contemporary “corps style” shows using roll-step marching, other performance varieties abound. Morgan State University, from Baltimore, Maryland, performs a high-energy show typical of southern HBCU bands. Lehigh University and Penn State University, both of which have participated in the past, perform traditional "Big Ten" style shows with a high-step marching technique. Other bands, including Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown University, West Chester University, The University of Delaware, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, have developed unique styles all their own.

Celebrating its 21st occurrence in 2016, the festival has a number of traditions, which spectators and performers have come to anticipate on an annual basis.

Order of performance

Vendors

Concessions

Musical Organizations

Additional musical fraternities such as Phi Mu Alpha also congregate at this time.Alumni and members of area drum corps gather and socialize at the event; most notably the Reading Buccaneers gather annually at the end of the event on or near the field. Students, staff, and alumni from the participating bands take this opportunity to commingle with other members and before all the schools depart. Many of the organizations sing their respective hymn/song before departing the festival.

Tubas/Sousaphones

Sunday, September 21, 2003 - Order of Appearance

Sunday, October 10, 2004 - Order of Appearance

Sunday, October 2, 2005 - Order of Appearance

Sunday, October 8, 2006 - Order of Appearance

Sunday, September 30, 2007 - Order of Appearance

Sunday, September 28, 2008 - Order Of Appearance

Sunday, October 4, 2009 - Order Of Appearance

Sunday, October 3, 2010 - Order Of Appearance

Sunday, September 25, 2011 - Order of Appearance

Sunday, September 30, 2012 - Order of Appearance

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