A single game ticket to the Morehouse-Tuskegee Football Classic buys fans more than 60 minutes of football this Saturday in Montgomery — it also covers a live performance from the Red Sample Band, whose blend of old school, pop, funk and jazz has shared stages with acts like Dru Hill and Mary J. Blige. The band takes over the Madison Avenue tailgate zone from 3 to 5 p.m. before kickoff, then reappears for VIP ticket holders inside the Multiplex once the gates open for the 6 p.m. game.
The tailgate set is part of Classic Countdown: The Official Tailgate Experience, which runs alongside DJ Fresh outside Cramton Bowl, according to the Miami Herald. Band member Robert Fields described the group as a total experience built around old school, pop, funk and jazz styles rather than a single genre, and said the outfit wanted to be unique, different and exciting. Lead singer and guitarist Vennie Kush, who hails from Louisiana, fronts a lineup that also includes Ahmad Worthy, Dr. Drey, Carlos Carmona, Kenny Mitchem, Trevor Rose, Robert Williams and Roderick Boswell, all performing under a group that formed in 2018 and has played Montgomery several times before.
A Homegrown Act With HBCU Roots
Fields put it simply: the band is more of an experience than a band. That framing extends to game day itself — Fields said the members are themselves HBCU college football fans and plan to watch the Morehouse-Tuskegee matchup once their tailgate set wraps. Fireworks are set to follow the final whistle, closing out a night that blends live music, football and a citywide celebration into one ticket.
General admission tickets run $25, while VIP and suite packages add extra music, food and drink options for fans who want the full Multiplex experience. Cramton Bowl itself is a 21,000-seat municipal stadium owned by the City of Montgomery, according to Wikipedia, which notes the venue opened in 1922 as a baseball park, received renovation approval in 2010, and completed renovations in 2011; it has four entrances and a 90,000-square-foot multipurpose facility.
Classic Weekend Stretches Across Downtown
The Red Sample Band's Saturday set is just one piece of a broader Classic Weekend lineup coordinated by the city. Festivities kick off Friday with Afterglow: The Classic Kickoff, a $10 ticketed event at Riverfront Park featuring comedian DC Young Fly and host De'Anthony Turner, according to Experience Montgomery. That Friday show includes comedy, music, local food vendors and a complimentary drink ticket for attendees 21 and older.
For Afterglow, clear bags are required and guests are subject to search, per Eventbrite; attendees over 21 must show valid identification to redeem alcoholic drinks at designated bars. The City of Montgomery is also coordinating street closures around Cramton Bowl in the days leading up to the game, affecting corridors including Lower Commerce Street, Lower Dexter Avenue and Madison Street, and running dedicated downtown shuttle service from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. on game day.
A Rivalry Dating Back to 1902
The football matchup underpinning all this civic pageantry carries its own weight. First played in 1902, the Morehouse-Tuskegee series is recognized as the oldest continuous classic in NCAA Division II football and the oldest rivalry among Historically Black Colleges and Universities, often dubbed the Granddaddy of All HBCU Classics by Morehouse College Athletics. The series dates to 1902, and the game relocated to Cramton Bowl in 2025 after decades in Columbus, Georgia, and a more recent stint in Birmingham.
The rivalry sets up plenty of tension for Saturday's rematch, even as the weekend's entertainment lineup keeps growing around it. Fans filing into Cramton Bowl will have already gotten their money's worth from the Red Sample Band alone.
