Schools from West Virginia and Ohio compete in the Metallica marching band competition

WEST VIRGINIA, WV (WOWK) — Metallica is challenging schools across the nation to show off their marching bands’ performances of Metallica’s music.

As part of the “For Whom the Band Tolls!” Metallica marching band competition, the public can vote for their favorite performances from nominated marching bands at the high school and collegiate level. Winning bands will receive musical equipment for their school programs.

Competitors are divided into five separate categories with different prizes:

1. Collegiate: Division 1 ($75,000 in prizing)
2. Collegiate: Division 2 and 3 ($40,000 in prizing)
3. High School: ($15,000 in prizing per sub-division)
   • Small (less than 75 band members)
   • Medium (between 75-124 band members)
   • Large (greater than 125 band members)
4. Fan Favorite: Collegiate across all divisions ($10,000 in prizing)
5. Fan Favorite: High school ($10,000 in prizing)

After the five finalists are chosen from the high school and collegiate winners by a panel of judges, Metallica themselves will select the final prize winners for each category. The fan favorite categories are decided by fan vote.

Nominated schools from Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky include:

Ohio Schools

• Allen East Local Schools (Harrod, OH)
• Boardman High School (Youngstown, OH)
• Buckeye Valley High School (Delaware, OH)
• Dover High School (Dover, OH)
• Hubbard High School (Hubbard, OH)
• Jackson Center Local Schools (Jackson Center, OH)
• Loudonville-Perrysville High School (Loudonville, OH)
• McComb Local School (McComb, OH)
• Normandy High School (Parma, OH)
• North Ridgeville High School (North Ridgeville, OH)
• Shaker Heights High School (Shaker Heights, OH)
• South Range High School (Canfield, OH)
• Sylvania Northview High School (Sylvania, OH)
• Upper Arlington High School (Upper Arlington, OH)
• Wadsworth High School (Wadsworth, OH)
• West Branch High School (Beloit, OH)

West Virginia Schools

• Jefferson High School (Shenandoah Junction, WV)
• Point Pleasant Junior/Senior High School (Point Pleasant, WV)
• University High School (Morgantown, WV)
• Marshall University (Huntington, WV)
• West Virginia University (Morgantown, WV)

Kentucky Schools

• Boone County High School (Florence, KY)
• Corbin High School (Corbin, KY)
• University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY)

To vote, visit the competition website and text the hashtag attached to the related school’s video to 833-609-0330. It is only one vote per category.

Winners will be announced the week of January 1, 2024.