Band has a Yankee swagger (6)
I believe the answer is:
sashay
'swagger' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'band has a yankee' is the wordplay.
'band' becomes 'sash' (sash is a kind of band).
'has' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'yankee' becomes 'Y' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'sash'+'a'+'y'='SASHAY'
(Other definitions for sashay that I've seen before include "parade" , "A piano manufacturer" , "Move glidingly" , "Glide along" , "move smoothly" .)