Roland Parrish, the CEO and owner of Parrish Restaurants and a longtime advocate for DISD schools, was at a high school football game when he decided he wanted to do something to benefit local high school bands.
“This started after I went to a football game between Skyline and Duncanville. I have been very involved with Dallas ISD, and I know that most of their extracurriculars would gladly take a boost in their treasury,” Parrish told NBC DFW. “So I thought it would be great to give a contribution to various bands. So that led to the discussion with my team about hosting a battle of the bands.”
Ten schools participated in the battle of the bands, but instead of one band taking the grand prize, all ten schools received a monetary gift.
“Ten days prior to the event, we sent $5,000 cashier checks to all ten schools before we even knew who was going to win the competition. So whether the event was going to be canceled or not because of the pandemic, we were going to still give them the money,” Parrish said.
The inaugural Roland Parrish Battle of the Bands competition crowned The Cedar Hill High School Red Army Marching Band as the winner. Each band performed based on the competition theme, “Honoring the Jackson Family.” Cedar Hill performed a medley of Michael Jackson’s hits and Janet’s 1993 hit, “That’s The Way Love Goes.”
The Red Army Marching Band took first place for percussion, their color guards came in second, and their drum majors placed third.
Band directors from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were also on-site auditioning senior band members. Parrish vows that the battle of the band competition will be an annual event.
For years, Roland Parrish’s philanthropy has helped various youth organizations and nonprofits in the Dallas metroplex. The Dallas Business Journal awarded Roland its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. His company is the 7th-largest minority-owned firm in North Texas.