The Jackson State University Sonic Boom of the South, one of the top HBCU bands in the nation, has selected the fourth woman in its history, Senior Ariel Woods from Dallas, Texas, as one of its drum majors for the 2024-2025 band season.
The 300-member Sonic Boom is led by five drum majors every year collectively known as the “Jackson Five.” Ariel Woods will be just the fourth woman to lead the historic HBCU band whose roots go back to the 1920’s.
As one of the top HBCU bands, the Jackson State University Sonic Boom does far more than perform at halftime of games. The Sonic Boom of the South is one of the most in-demand acts in the music industry today, performing at multiple NFL halftime shows, the Motown 30th anniversary special, and was the surprise guest for the opening night of Drake and J. Cole’s It’s All A Blur — Big as the What? Tour .
“Everything kind of just started happening in slow motion. Everybody started coming and started cheering me on and was just really excited that I was going to be the next drum major,” Ariel Woods told Brooklyn Joyner of 19 WAPT News in Jackson, Mississippi.