Pride Houston Band Prepares for Downtown Parade

HOUSTON — The 46th annual Houston Pride Parade will take place Saturday, and the Houston Pride Band is once again preparing to march through the city’s streets.

The group is rich in history, and KHOU 11 anchor/reporter Ron Treviño recently attended one of their rehearsals.

On Wednesday evening, a room full of musicians gathered to rehearse.

“We all have different skill levels, but we play at a very high level,” said group president Jason Svatek.

Most people know them as a marching band, but they are also a very busy marching band. Although they are not professionals, they sound the part and have around 70-80 musicians.

“We played a very difficult piece in our last concert and it was a huge accomplishment for us, a complete symphony of several movements,” he said.

The band’s roots go back to the late 1970s. Back then, it was called the Montrose Marching Band. Its popularity grew, but then came a massacre.

“We suffered greatly during the AIDS crisis. We lost a lot of members. We went from a very large group to a very small group, but we never stopped, even when there were only 10 people left in the group, they kept moving,” Svatek said.

They have been fighting for 45 seasons with a mission to provide a welcoming and safe musical outlet for LGBTQ and allied musicians. Their membership is open to all musicians, regardless of sexual orientation, aged 18 and over and of all levels.

Hannah Robertson has played clarinet since sixth grade and is the band’s treasurer. She said the group plays an important role in the community.

“For people like me who want to express themselves musically, but also for people who want to be among like-minded people, within their community, so they can feel accepted,” she said.

The Houston Pride Band continues to play a major role in Houston’s Pride celebrations.