CARSON, CA (Thursday, August 31, 2006) - Tickets go on sale tomorrow for the third annual Battle of the High School Marching Bands, the \"Southern Show Style\" marching band competition on Saturday, November 18 at The Home Depot Center, featuring eight finalists from across the United States.  Joining this year's show are celebrity judges Macy Gray, Shelia E., Miguel A. Gaetan (from the movie Drumline) and Earth, Wind and Fire's Verdine White.

\"This year's Battle of the High School Marching Bands is shaping up to be an outstanding event, and I am honored to return to The Home Depot Center to join this year's elite panel of celebrity judges,\" says White.  \"As a strong believer in the power of performing arts and music, I encourage everyone to join in this night of music celebration.\"

The event showcases a celebrity judges panel, and new this year is award-winning music artist and actress Macy Gray.  Gray, the 1999 Grammy winner for \"Best New Artist\" and actress, also recently opened her own music school, The M. Gray Music Academy in the NoHo Arts District in Hollywood, Calif. last year.  Joining Gray for his second year is Verdine White of the legendary Earth, Wind and Fire.  White was a judge in 2004, and founded the Verdine White Foundation (VWF) to provide performing arts lessons for at-risk, gifted and underprivileged youth. 

Other judges include Miguel A. Gaetan, musician and actor in the famed movie Drumline and three-year alumna and recording artist and performer Sheila E. Among several of her talents, Shelia E. devotes her time to the Elevate Hope Foundation, serving as Chair and Co-Founder.  The Elevate Hope Foundation is dedicated to providing abused and abandoned children an alternative method of therapy through music and the arts, and funding the special services and programs that assist the needs of these children using these fundamental methods.

The celebrity judges will be joined by four marching band alumni from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) from Prairie View A&M University (Prairie View, Texas), Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, Florida), Southern University & A&M College (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) and Grambling State University (Grambling, Louisiana). 

New this year to the event is a college fair for high school students interested in learning more about the university admission and application process.  Schools participating in the college fair include Prairie View A&M University, Florida A&M University and Home Depot Center partner and Carson neighbor California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Tickets for the $10 general admission event go on sale tomorrow at The Home Depot Center Box Office and online at www.ticketmaster.com.  The annual event, featuring eight 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 2005.

The eight finalists include four local, Southern California high schools including Alain Locke High School (Los Angeles, Calif.), Crenshaw High School (Los Angeles, Calif.), David Starr Jordan High School (Long Beach, Calif.) and Inglewood High School (Inglewood, Calif.).  Other finalists named include F.L. Schlagle High School (Kansas City, Kan.), Heritage High School (Newport News, Va.), Percy L. Julian High School (Chicago, Ill.) and 2004 winners Redan High School (Stone Mountain, Ga.).

About the VH1 Save The Music Foundation

Since VH1 Save The Music was created in 1997, more than $30 million worth of new musical instruments has been donated to 1,200 public schools in 80 cities, improving the lives of more than 700,000 children. VH1 Save The Music's many honors include the Governors' Award (a special Emmy Award), the George Foster Peabody Award for broadcast and cable excellence, and many Beacon Awards.

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 $400,000 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 2005 MLS and U.S. Open Cup Champion Los Angeles Galaxy; Club Deportivo (CD) 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 (USTA) USA Tennis 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. 

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