Although the Arkansas Razorbacks won on the field against the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions, the Golden Lions band won over the fans in the stands.
On Thursday, the Arkansas-Pine Bluff band, known as the “Mid-South Marching Music Machine,” performed a cover of WWE star Cody Rhodes' signature song, “Kingdom,” during the game.
Rhodes wrestled Kevin Owens in the WWE Undisputed Title match at The Bash in Berlin on Saturday. Rhodes defeated Owens to remain the undisputed WWE Champion.
Before his match, Rhodes listened to the band's rendition of their signature song and expressed his excitement for the performance. He said he would play the band's version once or twice in the locker room.
Berlin already had me excited. #WWEBash
But THIS may be played out once or twice in the locker room before my game today.
Amazing things @UAPBM4 ❤️ https://t.co/cYA5lcG8Lw
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) August 31, 2024
The band's full performance went viral on X, receiving more than 866,000 views as of Saturday night.
John Graham, director of bands at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, said band members were hesitant at first, once they received the piece at practice. But as they rehearsed the song, they began to love it.
“When our arranger put the song on paper for us, I looked at it [and] “Some of the students were shaking their heads and thinking, 'No, why are we playing this? ' And then we started rehearsing it and the piece came to life,” Graham told ESPN.
“I said, 'This is going to go away.'”
“Kingdom” wasn't arranged for the Golden Lions-Razorbacks game, but rather as a piece that could be used later in the season. However, Graham saw the Arkansas game as the perfect opportunity to debut the song in the stands.
When Graham made the first move for the band to play the song, excitement filled the stadium.
“As soon as I put the hammer down and we started playing, I looked around and saw the fans reacting like, 'They're playing Kingdom,'” Graham said. “I saw them standing up with excitement and positive reactions, and I was like, 'We're here.' It was a beautiful moment.”
