The Second Time Arounders Marching Band of St. Petersburg is taking 140 performers to Philadelphia for the USA 250 Salute to Independence Parade on July 3, along with 53 family members and friends — the band’s so-called Band-Aids — who will cheer them on and pitch in.
The parade is part of the nation’s semiquincentennial, marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The band’s members range in age from 22 to 81, and their set list mixes the theme from “Rocky,” “Sweet Caroline” and a little Floribbean flavor in “Hot Hot Hot” with a dose of yacht rock. The streets may be steamy, but the group’s new uniforms feature convertible pants that zip into shorts.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, and we are incredibly excited to be part of such a momentous occasion,” said Steve Cantin, the band’s musical director. “Our members are looking forward to sharing our love of music and performance with the thousands of spectators in Philadelphia and celebrating America’s 250th birthday in the birthplace of our nation.”
The ‘Rounders are scheduled to appear during the national broadcast, airing from noon to 4 p.m. EDT on July 3 on NBC10 Philadelphia and Peacock. The parade will also stream on Roku, Prime Video, YouTube, Amazon Fire TV, Pluto TV, C-SPAN and Google TV as it is carried globally.
The Philadelphia trip is sponsored by Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, whose logo will appear on the bass drums and some of the flags. Patriotic colors adorn the flag twirlers, dancers, majorettes, banner carriers and other performers, who ran through the full show in mid-June. Members pay for their own hotel, transportation and uniforms — new this year — while Visit St. Pete/Clearwater helped cover rehearsal space, music and other expenses.
“We’re probably the largest adult marching band in America, about 250 members during the season,” said group president Brett Husselbaugh, who played clarinet in fourth grade and rediscovered his passion for music about 13 years ago when he joined. Now retired from a career in IT and in his second year as president, Husselbaugh plays in 10 bands on three instruments: clarinet, alto saxophone and tenor saxophone. The group also fields the 30-member Renegades Special Events Band, which will perform this summer at Westminster communities and is available for bookings.
The homegrown, multigenerational group keeps a full local calendar, from the Seminole Christmas boat parade, alongside the Seminole High School Warhawks, to the Pinellas Park Christmas parade, “one of our favorites,” Husselbaugh said. In Philadelphia, the band will perform in three parades and a stand-up concert.
The Warhawks connection runs deep. Karen Conkel was part of the school’s first color guard in 1975. “Now I’m a proud member of the Awesome Original Second Time Arounders Marching Band,” she said.
The ‘Rounders’ musical director, Cantin, earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Tampa in 1997, where he met his wife, Emily, also a trumpet player. He served as a travel host for the Outback Bowl from 1995 to 2012, working with visiting bands and helping with the halftime show on game day. Cantin taught for 11 years in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties while performing and judging solo and ensemble students for the Florida Bandmasters Association. Since leaving public education, he has continued to work with area high school bands in Dunedin and East Lake and keeps a full studio of private trumpet students. His performance work includes several drum and bugle corps, among them the two-time DCI World Champion Phantom Regiment. Cantin joined the Second Time Arounders in 2002 and also performs occasionally with the Dunedin Concert Band and the Florida Brass.
Associate musical director Craig Eason, a University of Florida music graduate, directs the band at an Ocala middle school when he isn’t marching with a baritone horn or playing drums for the Rounder Renegades. His wife, Veronica, is also a ‘Rounder.
A float? No, a marching band!
The band was founded in 1983 by William “Bill” Findeisen, a music store owner looking for a fresh way to advertise — something other than a float. After talking with Herb Melloney, executive director of the St. Petersburg Festival of States, Findeisen landed on a question: What happens to all those musicians after high school and college? Would they jump at the chance to march one more time? An ad in the local paper drew 60 players to a two-hour rehearsal, where Findeisen handed out two tunes and ran the group. At the end, he collected the music and promised two new songs the next week. The turnout and the sound exceeded expectations — and the ‘Rounders have been exceeding them ever since. Membership once hit 400 and holds steady at about 250 in 2026.
The ‘Rounders took their first road trip in 1994, to the Rose Festival in Portland, Ore. Since then, they have appeared at the Fiesta celebration in San Antonio, the Calgary Stampede in Alberta, the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington and St. Patrick’s Day festivals in Savannah, Ga., and Dublin, Ireland (in 2001 and again in 2022). They have also marched twice in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.
The band welcomes anyone 18 or older who has played in a high school, college or military marching band, and it will take new members in the fall. There are no tryouts. The ‘Rounders rehearse for about six weeks and perform for a week — roughly seven weeks a year — then return to their daily routines until the next season. Members come from across the region and beyond, some from as far as Ocala and Orlando. For more information, visit secondtimearounders.org.