Lied Center presents Drumline Live on Feb. 9

            The Lied Center for Performing Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln presents Drumline Live at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9. Tickets may be purchased at the Lied Center Ticket Office, 301 N. 12th St., by phone at 402-472-4747 or online at www.liedcenter.org. Ticket prices start at $30 for adults and $15 for youth.

            Drumline Live's energetic cast has honed its precision and energy with years of training in marching band programs across the southern United States. This versatile group of musicians and dancers brings an explosive energy and athleticism to an eclectic mix of sounds. Equally at home with the hottest contemporary hip hop, R&B, classic Motown tunes, and the rousing sounds of the great brass tradition, Drumline Live is thrilled to share the American Marching Band experience with a wider audience.

            Historically Black Colleges and Universities are institutions of higher learning that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the African-American community. There are more than 100 historically black colleges in the United States, located almost exclusively in the Southeast. The HBCU were established after the Civil War as places of dignity and hope where young people had an opportunity to become professionals instead of maids or laborers.

            Along with the private black colleges and universities founded later by the American Missionary Association and the Freedmen's Bureau, these reconstruction era schools became the backbone of higher education for African Americans.

            It was in these bastions of higher education that the tradition of the show style marching band was born. The tradition began more than 50 years ago at Florida A&M University, which has been long considered the nation's preeminent black college marching band school. HBCU marching bands began, as most do, as support for the college football team. They have since grown into a sport of their own, featuring characteristic high stepping, funky dance rhythms, and exciting musical repertoire ranging from classical to Top 40.

            Celebrations of HBCU marching culminate in competitions such as the Big Southern Classic and the Bayou Classic. These competitions, which draw audiences of roughly 60,000 fans each, are a testament to the popularity of the sport. But it is only recently, with films such as Drumline, backed by a flurry of high profile marching band appearances that this tradition has begun to capture the imagination of the American public.

            A pre-show talk one-half hour before the performance, will be led by Lincoln High School band director Chris Watson. The talk, free to ticket holders, will be in the Lied Center's Steinhart Room.

            This Lied performance is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of Nebraska and Ace Rent to Own. The Lied Center's 23rd Season is supported by Friends of Lied, Ameritas and Union Bank. All events in the Lied Center are made possible entirely or in part by the Lied Performance Fund, which has been established in memory of Ernst F. Lied and his parents, Ernst M. and Ida K. Lied. The Nebraska Arts Council, a state agency, has supported the programs of this organization through its matching grants program funded by the Nebraska Legislature; the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. For more information visit LiedCenter.org.

Writer: Matthew Boring