Drumlines from all across Washington came to participate and compete in the Glacier Peak Drumline Festival. As Glacier Peak is the host, they weren’t a part of the competition. They still performed, and students also helped guide the other bands to ensure that everything was timely and well-run. Lincoln High School ended up taking home the gold, and Roosevelt High School was awarded second place. “Lincoln has a very large ensemble, and yet it was extremely tight. When you have that many people, it’s extremely hard to keep it so rhythmically tight. All the sections within it were super cohesive within themselves and within the ensemble at large as well. The bass drum splits were clean, the cymbals were clean, the snare drums were level, everything was tight,” Nick Sanchez, one of the two judges, said.

While all of the performances had capable formations, rhythms, and expression, some bands found ways to make their performances pop. Two of Bellevue’s drummers staged a swordfight with their drumsticks, and members of Lincoln and Roosevelt High School performed aerobatics. However, the bands were not the only entertaining ones at the festival. Desi Torres and George Davis were announcing and had to stall for time. They engaged with the crowd by inviting members down to tell their own jokes and by getting them to sing “Happy Birthday” to three people whose birthdays had occurred recently. “It was really fun. I liked making the entire audience laugh. The best part was when the guest speakers came down and told their jokes,” Davis said.

This is the second year that it has been back, as it was cancelled due to COVID and took some time to reinstate. Over the course of two hours, 11 schools performed, including Glacier Peak. “It was wonderful to have so many bands out here, what a great experience. The kids did a really good job organizing their music. They were so organized for the whole event. We’ve been preparing for this for months,” Director Tadd Morris said.