The film “Drumline” shone a bigger spotlight on marching bands and dance ensembles at historically Black colleges and universities that some say still resonates 20 years after its release.
Janae McCloud didn’t always know how to read music perfectly, or the technicalities of playing the alto saxophone. She just did whatever she needed to keep going with the music.
“Drumline” follows a gifted drummer who was awarded a full music scholarship to Atlanta A&T University, a fictional historically Black college. The, which led to a sequel and live show, was inspired by music producer Dallas Austin’s experience in his high school band. “It took a culture that was kind of somewhat underground and made it mainstream,” said Don Roberts, executive band consultant for the film and the creator of “DRUMLine Live.”Kylan Jones, a sophomore trumpet player in the Sonic Boom of the South Marching Band at Jackson State University, believes the film was the reason many African American children joined their middle school and high school bands. “When I joined band, all of the boys wanted to play snare like Nick Cannon,” Jones said.
“People got a chance to see that this is really entertaining [and] the advancement and the musicianship are incredible,” said Donovan Walls, band director at Bethune-Cookman University. He said he’s noticed many bands from predominantly White colleges have “adopted a lot of elements of HBCU bands.” “ ‘Drumline’ showed that bands could be marketed and that money could be made off it,” said Brian Simmons, director of bands at Texas Southern University.
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