Crowds of alumni young and old wearing royal blue lined the sidewalks of Jefferson Street on Oct. 18 as drums from Tennessee State University’s Aristocrat of Bands rang out at 9 a.m., kicking off the university’s annual homecoming parade.
The Grammy award-winning band was followed by a dozen corvettes carrying honorees and the university’s new president, Dwayne Tucker.
Nashville city officials followed. Fire Chief William Swann led a fire truck and a contingent of Nashville firefighters, followed by a group from the Nashville Sheriff’s office. TSU alumni State Rep. Harold Love, D-Nashville, wished attendees a “happy homecoming,” as Metro Register of Deeds Karen Johnson greeted the crowd waving an oversized blue fan. Property Assessor Vivian Willhoite rode down Jefferson Street in a Miller Light party bus bedazzled with royal blue tinsel.
Tennessee State University’s Grammy award-winning Aristocrat of Bands kicks off the 2025 homecoming parade on Jefferson Street on Oct. 18, 2025.
A young fan waves at motorcyclists participating in the TSU Homecoming parade on Jefferson Street on Oct. 18, 2025.
TSU’s parade celebrated the talents and business accomplishments of thousands of alumni across the city. High School bands from Pearl Cohn High School, Cane Ridge High School, Whites Creek High School, Lawson High School and Germantown High School all performed. More than a dozen dance, cheer and tumbling academy students showed off their talents in bedazzled and feathered costumes ― to cheers from the crowd.
The Sound of Thunder Lawson Lightning Band from James Lawson High School in Nashville plays during the TSU Homecoming parade on Jefferson Street on Oct. 18, 2025.
TSU played Howard University later that day for its homecoming game at Nissan Stadium on Oct. 18.
Cheerleaders from Fayette-Ware High in Somerville, Tennessee walk in TSU’s Homecoming parade on Oct. 18, 2025.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSU Homecoming parade draws crowds to Jefferson Street
