TICKETS ON SALE TODAY FOR THE 2008 BATTLE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING BANDS
DEC. 6 AT THE HOME DEPOT CENTER

Artist and Producer George Duke to Make Opening Remarks at the Fifth Annual Charity Event

CARSON, CA (Wednesday, Oct. 1) – Tickets go on sale today – Wednesday, Oct. 1 – for the fifth annual Battle of the High School Marching Bands, the “Southern Show Style” marching band competition on Saturday, December 6 at The Home Depot Center, featuring seven finalists from across the United States; three hail locally from Los Angeles. General admission tickets are available now for $10; group tickets are available for $8.

Los Angeles high school finalists include Inglewood High School Marching Band (Inglewood, Calif./2006 winner/2007 competitor) – as well as Dominguez High Marching Band (Compton, Calif.) and Crenshaw High School (Los Angeles, Calif.), who returns to the event for the first time since 2006.

Other finalists include Percy L. Julian High School (Chicago, Ill./2007 & 2006 competitor) and three schools who will compete in the event for the first time; Henrico High School (Richmond, Va.), Clifton J. Ozen Magnet High School (Beaumont, Tx.) and Martin Luther King, Jr. High School (Detroit, Mich.).

On Saturday, December 6, the seven finalists will battle it out “Southern Show Style” in the 27,000-seat soccer stadium at The Home Depot Center in front of thousands of fans, and a panel of HBCU (Historical Black Colleges and Universities) band directors and drill/dance team alumni from Norfolk State University Marching Band, Central State University Marching Band, Texas Southern University, Morehouse College, Lincoln University, Grambling University Marching Band, as well as VIP celebrity guests for the grand prize of $10,000 to purchase new instruments or uniforms. A special 5th Anniversary first place trophy will be specially designed by renowned artist Ernie Barnes.

This year’s opening speaker is the award winning and legendary artist and producer George Duke. Duke has worked with headline artists including Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Roberta Flack, Gladys Knight, Anita Baker, Barry Manilow and several others.

Over the past five years, various celebrities have shown their support for this community event. Celebrities and special guests who have participated or performed in past Battle of the High School Marching Bands include Rev. Jesse Jackson, Kanye West, Common, Sheila E., Chris Brown, Lalah Hathaway, Verdine White and Earth, Wind & Fire, Afeni Shakur, Keke Palmer, Ananda Lewis, Bobby Brown and Sharon Leal, to name a few. An announcement on this year’s celebrity and VIP guests will be made in the coming months.

More than 100 high school marching bands applied to compete in the 2008 Battle of the High School Marching Bands, which in 2007 raised more than $100,000 for The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation and the VH1 Save The Music Foundation.

Tickets for the $10 general admission event are on sale now at The Home Depot Center Box Office (open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) and online at www.ticketmaster.com, and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Group tickets are available for $8 (for groups of 15 or more), and are available by calling 1-866-LAGROUP (1-866-4524-7687). The fifth annual event, featuring seven high school marching bands competing “Southern Show Style” for the grand prize of $10,000 and prizes, raised more than $100,000 for The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation and the VH1 Save the Music Foundation in years' past.

About the VH1 Save The Music Foundation
Since 1997, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation has successfully restored and sustained instrumental music programs in 1,500 public schools in 100 communities across the country, including Memphis, Houston, Chicago, New York, Denver, Baltimore and Milwaukee. Over the past ten years, various artists and celebrities have shown their devotion to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation by partnering with the organization as they’ve reached out to struggling school districts across the country. Celebrities including Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Sting, Billy Joel, Kiefer Sutherland, John Legend, Rob Thomas, Alicia Keys, and Jewel have donated their time and efforts to the organization in attempts to raise awareness about the importance of music in a child’s education. To date, The Foundation has provided more than $40 million in new musical instruments, affecting the lives of more than 1 million children. For more information on the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, please visit http://www.vh1.com/partners/save_the_music/.

About The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation
The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation was established to provide financial and in-kind support for educational, recreational and social service programs which improve the lives of young people in the Greater Southern California region. The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation has given more than $500,000 to youth organizations since The Home Depot Center opened in 2003.

About The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center is southern California’s home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes. The $150 million, privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125-acre site on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) in Carson, California. The Home Depot Center features an 8,000-seat tennis stadium, a 27,000-seat stadium for soccer, rugby and other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 10,000-seat facility for track & field and lacrosse, the ADT Event Center (a 2,450-seat indoor velodrome for cycling) and other facilities for softball, baseball, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. The Home Depot Center is home to three professional sports teams – Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, and Major League Lacrosse’s (MLL) Los Angeles Riptide. Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is also home of the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) High Performance Training Center and is the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF). The David Beckham Academy for youth soccer, Andre Agassi’s Safe Passage All-Stars at-risk youth tennis program and Athletes’ Performance’s training center for elite and professional athletes are all based at The Home Depot Center. The Home Depot Center has additionally been designated official training sites for USA Cycling and USA Track & Field. For more information, please visit www.homedepotcenter.com.

Contact:
Alison Groendal, The Home Depot Center Communications
(310) 630-2032