Home Depot Center News

Music recording artist Solange will headline the 2008 Battle of the High School Marching Bands halftime show, presented by Herbalife. Joining her at halftime is singer and songwriter Rahsaan Patterson, and up-and-coming music artist Chaz Shepherd. Each artist will perform music from their latest albums live during halftime at the fifth annual charity event at The Home Depot Center on Saturday, December 6, raising money for The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation and the VH1 Save The Music Foundation and their combined efforts to support music and arts education for youth.

Seven high school marching band finalists will battle it out \"Southern Show Style\" in the 27,000-seat soccer stadium in front of thousands of fans, a panel of HBCU (Historical Black Colleges and Universities) band directors and drill/dance team alumni, and VIP celebrity guests for the grand prize of $10,000 to purchase new instruments or uniforms.

Headlining the Herbalife Halftime Show performance is Solange, who will perform songs from her new sophomore alum, \"SoL-AngeL and the Hadley St. Dreams,\" from Music World Entertainment/Geffen Records, which landed in the top 10 of the Billboard charts upon release. Solange's love of music started at an early age when she trained in ballet, jazz, tap and modern dance. After touring internationally as a dancer for Destiny's Child when she was 13 years old, she began to mix and match musical styles she experienced in Europe, Africa, Asia, Mexico and Australia with what she loved from America, which were sounds from the 60s and 70s. Her influences from the era range from Shuggie Otis-who made the original \"Strawberry Letter 23,\"-to The Supremes and the Marvelettes, Dusty Springfield, Marvin Gaye and Minnie Riperton.

Performing holiday favorites at the Battle of the High School Marching Bands will be critically acclaimed singer and songwriter Rahsaan Patterson, performing live from his first-ever Christmas CD, \"The Ultimate Gift.\" The CD includes Patterson's interpretations of more recent holiday classics, including Stevie Wonder's 1967 original \"What Christmas Means to Me\" and Paul McCartney's 1979 \"Wonderful Christmastime.\"

Joining Solange and Patterson in the Herbalife Halftime Show is up-and-coming artist Chaz Shepherd, performing songs from his debut album, \"The First One\" from the PRK Group, Inc. Shepherd wrote and produced the entire album after having just wrapped his Broadway-starring role as Harpo, opposite of Fantasia in Oprah Winfrey's \"The Color Purple.\"

In addition to the halftime performances, special guests from the T.C. Spivey-Hall \"Concertmasters\" from Atlanta, Georgia, will sing the National Anthem. The \"Concertmasters\" are an elite group of young, gifted African American clarinetists. Following the National Anthem will be a special opening address by the award-winning and legendary artist and producer George Duke. Duke will be announced by Battle of the High School Marching Bands four-year alumna and award-winning recording artist Sheila E.

Los Angeles high school finalists include Inglewood High School Marching Band (Inglewood, Calif./2006 winner), Dominguez High Marching Band from Compton, Calif. and Crenshaw High School (Los Angeles, Calif.). Other finalists include Percy L. Julian High School (Chicago, Ill.), Henrico High School (Richmond, Va.), Clifton J. Ozen Magnet High School (Beaumont, Texas) and Martin Luther King, Jr. High School (Detroit, Mich.).

Tickets for the $10 general admission event, on Saturday, December 6 at 2:00 p.m., are on sale now at The Home Depot Center Box Office and online at www.ticketmaster.com . The 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 year's past.

In addition to Herbalife, other companies sponsoring the 2008 Battle of the High School Marching Bands are American Express, Time Warner Cable, 93.5 The Beat of LA, YAMAHA, CP Transportation, Inc., Crowne Plaza Hotel Redondo Beach and Marina Hotel, Crowne Plaza Hotel Los Angeles International Airport, Doubletree Hotel Los Angeles International Airport, Embassy Suites Los Angeles International Airport, Clarion Hotel Carson, REMO, Gold Coast Tours, Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce (GLAAACC), Los Angeles Urban League, Halftime Magazine, U Name It Promotional Items & Awards, LAPD (The Daily Journal), Dr. Lanier Dental Group and City Best Insurance.

About the VH1 Save The Music Foundation
The VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education programs in America's public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child's complete education. Since 1997, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation has successfully restored and sustained instrumental music programs in 1,600 public schools in more than 100 cities 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. This year, Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Chris Webber, Gavin DeGraw, NE-YO, Johnny Rzeznik, Natasha Bedingfield, The Fray, Tamia, 3 Doors Down and Venus Williams serve as The Foundation's Inaugural Class of Ambassadors, each delivering key messages and funds on behalf of the Foundation. To date, VH1 Save The Music has provided more than $43 million in new musical instruments, affecting the lives of more than 1.2 million children. Since 1997, VH1 Save The Music has provided $43 million worth of new musical instruments, donated to more than 1,600 public schools in more than 100 cities around the country, impacting the lives of more than 1.2 million public school students. Now eleven years strong, it is the Foundation's it is our renewed commitment to donate one hundred million dollars worth of new musical instruments to ensure that even a greater number of students receive a comprehensive music education in the coming decade! To join the movement to First Make Music, Then Make History, visit www.vh1savethemusic.com.

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