MLK Day’s popular Battle of the Bands at MGM Park is postponed due to COVID spread
The Battle of the Bands is returning to downtown Biloxi on Feb. 6 as part of Coastwide MLK Day celebrations after being postponed from its original date due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Coastwide MLK Celebration weekend, originally planned to be held on MLK weekend, will now be held on Feb. 3-6, 2022.
The popular event, held in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., had been at Yankee Stadium for years until that facility was torn down. It moved to the Mississippi Coast Coliseum for a while, and now it will be back in East Biloxi at the MGM Park, home of the Biloxi Shuckers.
Festivities include a parade that will wind through a designated area of downtown Biloxi and conclude at the MGM Park, where the real battle will begin.
Bands representing Alcorn State University, Mississippi Valley State University and a number of local and regional high schools will compete in the stadium, beginning at noon. Gates open at the stadium at 10 a.m.
The parade begins at 11 a.m.
The event is a pure celebration as the bands compete and is sponsored by the Coastwide Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee, the City of Biloxi and the Hank Aaron Sports Academy in Jackson.
Hank Aaron played for two Mississippi Minor League teams during his 23-year, Hall of Fame career and was an ardent admirer of King’s.
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 10:37 AM.
