The Byrnes Rebel Band displaying the kind of tour de force that has made them a premier state band for decades.
Byrnes High School band seniors Jon May and Sunny Harrison have spent the last 12 months practicing until they are Rebel blue in the face, marching until even their teenage feet have begged for relief, and rehearsing a world of new music to the point of hurting their brains.
And neither they nor any of their 398 fellow marchers would have had it any other way since they will soon have a chance to display all of their effort and talent on November 26 at the 100th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
“It's a chance of a lifetime – something that I will remember for years to come,” said Harrison, one of the band’s flutists.
May, who plays the mellophone, added, “Being part of something this grand that is bigger than our school, community, and state, is a really exciting experience.”
And well worth all the sacrifice – considering that the last time the Rebel band marched in the parade was 2002. If you’re keeping score, that equates to nearly four full graduating classes, and four of their 13 state championships.
Further consider that fourth-year band director Chris Moss and sixth-year associate director of bands Jarrod Mabery were notified by Macy’s representatives in September 2025 of the band’s inclusion, and had to resist every temptation not to spill the beans before they were allowed.
“We had to wait two weeks to tell the students, so that all the accepted bands across the country could find out at the same time, and on a Today Show spot,” Moss said. “We gathered all of our students for a meeting and told them with help from the manager of the Macy's at Haywood Mall (in Greenville, S.C.).”
Mabery pointed out that those two weeks were the easy part – coming after a long, extensive application that included video recordings reviews of the “competitive marching band and parade performances over the last couple of years.”
“We also had to have recommendations from directors of band programs that have previously marched in the Macy's parade along with letters of support from our district level administration,” Mabery said. “This year, we are one of seven marching bands selected across the country accepted to the parade.”
It will be the Rebels’ fourth appearance, having first appeared in the parade in 1980, and then again in 1996. All the past year’s efforts will be needed as members will have to march and play for the entire 3 hours and 30 minutes – including a 1-minute-and-20-second TV segment performance on NBC.
But both Moss and Mabery indicated that the significance of the special moment “goes well beyond the performance itself.”
“While marching in the parade may not directly make us better musicians, the experiences we provide our students are just as important as the music we teach,” Mabery said. “Long after the performance is over, our students will carry the memories from this experience with them for the rest of their lives,”
Moss said that he is one who still carries the memory with him, from 1996 when he was a member of the Rebel regiment.
“Ever since, the parade has held a special place in our family Thanksgiving traditions – We always keep track of what bands are performing and watch the parade each year,” he said. “And I couldn't be more excited to take our current band to New York and see them march in Herald Square.”
