Antoine Miller is helping to keep kids off the streets with music. The 32-year-old is the founder of Sounds of Success Warriors. Also known as the SOS Warriors, the group is a community marching band in Riviera Beach, Fla, the only Black town in Palm Beach County. 

Miller created the band on Feb. 5, 2018, while working as a music teacher. Around that time, one of his students was shot and killed. “I remember going to the candlelight ceremony,” he recalled. “ I was like, you know, guys, what’s going on? Like, why do you guys believe that we have so much crime within our city because we live in a high-volume crime area.” 

Miller went on, “And one of my former students, he made a very valid point. He said, Well, you know, Mr. Miller, oftentimes, we put so much energy into, preparing kids to go to college, but not every child is going to go to college, that’s a true thing.” He added,  “And it’s the kids that are left behind, the ones that are staying here locally, those are the ones that commit crimes.” 

That same year he started the SOS band to give his community a sense of positivity to engage it. 

The band is made up of 100 kids and young adults between the ages of 5 and 23. Many of them come in with no experience in music and learn how to use their instruments with hands-on training and a home workout program. A daily schedule would include getting picked up from school by a designated bus, an hour for homework, and three hours of practice between four and seven in the afternoon. 

How kids can join the SOS band

Miller says there aren’t any specific qualifications to participate as long as they are willing to learn and go by his rules. 

“We are very big on discipline and structure,” Miller says, two skills he acquired as a member of Florida A&M University’s Marching 100 Band. “That was the first traditional style marching band founded by William Foster back in June one of 1946,” he says.  “But the things that I have learned at FAMU, of course, I do implement them here within our rehearsals. I believe that’s where we get our energy from in our dance moves.” 

Education is also a priority. Many of Miller’s students have gone on to universities such as FAMU, Bethune-Cookman, Jackson State, and Southern University. And since the band belongs to the community, its community gives back to it tremendously. As a non-profit, all of the instruments have either been donated or paid for by the community. 

And since the band belongs to the community, its community gives back to it tremendously. As a non-profit, all of the instruments have either been donated or paid for by the community. 

“ Every year people will call me or they’ll stop by and drop off instruments which we need,” he says because the band has gotten bigger. 

And since its start in 2018, kids in the SOS have traveled to cities across Florida and Georgia such as Atlanta, Augusta, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Tallahassee. Many of the members had never stepped out of their town before joining the band. But their biggest trip is yet to come. 

The road to London

This summer, the SOS Warriors were invited to perform in London’s Band Week. It takes place this June. At first, Miller admits that he thought the initial invitation was a scam until he hopped on a Zoom with the official coordinators. 

“I asked the question that everyone asks,” Miller reflected on the meeting. “Well, how did you find us? How did you find this community marching band out of all the great outstanding collegiate marching bands in America, high school, middle school bands?” 

The coordinator told Miller he was put on a task to find a ‘worthy community marching band.’  And when he googled community marching band, SOS was the first one that popped up in his search. 

“He [London Band week coordinator] said it was the energy that the band has and how we’re able to get these little kids to sound like a regular big band,” says Miller. 

To raise money for their trip, the band has been fundraising such as raffling off 4,000 tickets for $100 each. Prizes include a 2023 BMW  and Hyundai and a flat-screen TV. The raffle is nationwide and anyone can participate. The band is also hosting a Black tie gala on April 8. All of the proceeds will go towards the kids’ London trip. Raffle winners will be announced at the gala. 

“And even if you don’t win,” he says about the raffle, “it’s the fact that you were able to help so many kids represent America and all of its beauty.”

To learn more about the SOS Warriors, participate in the raffle or purchase a ticket for the gala go to www.soswarriors.com.