DRUMline Live

Type:
* Music
* Performance

This Event: May be of interest to the LGBTQ community

Overture welcomes DRUMLine Live, the show-stopping attraction created by the music team behind 20th Century Fox’s hit movie, Drumline, for one night only on Wednesday, March 1, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. in Overture Hall, with Madison’s own Black Star Drum Line performing as an opening act.

“We’ve taken the excitement of an HBCU football game halftime show, increased the intensity by a thousand watts, and created a musical journey that will touch every emotion. DRUMLine Live is a high octane musical roller coaster ride that will keep the entire family cheering for more.” Don P. Roberts, Creator and Director of DRUMLine Live.

DRUMLine Live has paraded onto some of the biggest theatre stages in America, Japan and Korea and performed more than 300 shows since 2009. The stop in Madison, Wis., is part of the company’s Black History Month tour, which will be followed by additional performances in the United States.

Black Star Drum Line will perform as the opening number for the show. This Kids in the Rotunda favorite group has performed more than 600 times in Madison and the surrounding area since 2008, showcasing talented dancers, singers, rappers and beat boxers, along with local celebrity musicians and performers.

Complete with dazzling choreography and explosive percussion, DRUMLine Live is a thrilling spectacle that pays homage to the show-style marching popularized at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). HBCU bands have had a major effect on entertainment and culture. Lifetime’s, “Bring It,” is one of their highest rated shows and has led to an upcoming reality television show about the Alabama State University Marching Band. Additionally, almost every professional sports team now has an HBCU style drumline.

With riveting rhythms, bold beats and ear-grabbing energy, DRUMLine Live is a synchronized musical showcase of the legendary HBCU experience. This experience comes alive with our world-class cast of percussionists, musicians and dancers. The 35 member cast of performers honed its unrivaled talent with years of training in marching band programs across the United States such as Florida A&M University, Tennessee State University and Southern University just to name a few.

Incorporating original compositions and soul-stirring interpretations of top 40 hits, DRUMLine Live’s musical journey infuses colorful, choreographed routines with vibrant costumes and heavy doses of drum riffs and cadences. With musical highlights from hip-hop, American soul, gospel, jazz and other music genres, DRUMLine Live brings a unique style of drumming, mesmerizing musicianship, and lively choreography never seen on stage before.
Tickets, on sale now, start at just $25 and are available in person at the Overture Center Ticket Office (201 State Street), online at overture.org or by phone at 608.258.4141. Discounts are available for groups of ten or more.

For an additional $15, attendees can arrive prior to the show (6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, 2017) for Overture’s Get Social program to expand upon their experience and receive a discounted performance ticket. A Get Social ticket includes a drink, appetizers, drum line demos and drumming station with Black Star Drum Line and more. Overture’s Get Social is presented by Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. More information is available at overture.org/getsocial.

DRUMLine Live is part of the Bell Laboratories Music Series at Overture Center.

CAST
ANTOINE GIBSON……………………………………………………………………………. (Saxophone) Florida A&M University
NADERAH MUNAJJ………………………………………………………………….. (Dancer / Vocalist) Florida A&M University
KAYLA COX………………………………………………………………………………(Dancer / Vocalist) Florida A&M University
ISAIAH “CROW IKE” ELLIS………………………………………………………………………………(Drum Set) Benedict College
CADRICK SMITH………………………………………………………………………………..(Euphonium), Florida A&M University
PAUL WOODS………………………………………………………………………………..(Percussion) Kentucky State University
TEVIN WILLIAMS……………………………………………………………..(Percussion / Vocalist) Prairie View A&M University
MARCUS JOYNER………………………………………………………………….(Percussion), North Carolina Central University
BERNARD SMITH…………………………………………………………………………………(Percussion) Norfolk State University
JEAN VILPIN………………………………………………………………………………………….(Trumpet) Florida A&M University
KADEEM CHAMBERS……………………………………………………………………..(Sousaphone) Kennesaw State University
LOUBINS RICHARDS…………………………………………………………………………..(Sousaphone) Berklee College of Music
ELIJAH THOMPSON…………………………………………………………………………………(Trumpet) Jackson State University
LARRY J. ALLEN…..(Creative Staff/Percussion Director/Trumpet & Percussion Player) Prairie View A&M University
MYCHAL MOSS……………………………………………………………………………………..(Trombone) Jackson State University
LOMARIO MARCHMAN………………………………………………………………………..(French Horn) Florida A&M University
MATTHEW ASHRAF…………………………………………………………………………….(Trombone) Alabama A&M University
DA’SHON HAYES…………………………………………………………………………………(French Horn) Florida A&M University
ALICIA DIXON………………………………………………………………………………..(Dancer / Vocalist) University of Georgia
CORMESHA JOHNSON………………………………………………………………………………..(Dancer), Clark Atlanta University
REUBEN AHUKANNA………………………………………………………………(Trombone) North Carolina Central University
JOSHUA DANDRIDGE……………………………………………………………………………(Euphonium) Florida A&M University
RHANDAL JACKSON………………………………………………………………………………(Trumpet) Alabama A&M University
HONESTY BRENNAN…………………………………………………….(Trumpet / Dancer / Vocalist) Florida A&M University
ANTHONY SCOTT…………………………………………………………………………………….(Trumpet) Florida A&M University
EDWIN BLAKLEY……………………………………………………………………..(Trombone / Clarinet) Florida A&M University
JACQUES BELL……………………………………..(Saxophone / Choreographer / Michael Jackson) University of Georgia
SHELDON QUICK…………………………………………………………………………………….(Trumpet) Florida A & M University
BRIAN SNELL………………………………………………………………(Drum Major / Creative Team) Florida A&M University
SLATER THORPE………………………………………………..(Host / Lead Vocalist / Creative Team) Florida A&M University

CREATIVE TEAM AND CREDITS
DON P. ROBERTS …………….. Creator, Director, and CEO
BRIAN SNELL…………………….. Assistant Musical Director, Drum Major and Cast Manager
JACQUES BELL…………………….. Assistant Show Director and Choreographer
LARRY ALLEN……………………………… Percussion Director
SLATER THORPE III………………….. Host and Vocal Coach
GARY BRUNCLIK…………………….Tour / Production Manager
XAVIER PIERCE……………………..…….. Lighting Designer
JERRY JOHNSON……………………….. Costume Designer
THERYN KNIGHT………………………… Lighting Technician
KEITH “KD” MORLEY……………………. Sound Technician
DE’ANDRA DOMINIQUE… Director of Communications and Outreach
SAMANTHA TERRY………………… Marketing Coordinator
VANITY HILL ………………………………….…. Graphic Artist
RAYMOND ROLLE II ……………………………..….. Arranger
KEVEN SHEPHERD …………………………………… Arranger
NICHOLAS THOMAS …………………………….…. Arranger
QUENTIN GOINS………………………………….….. Arranger
LINDSEY SARJEANT..…………………………..……. Arranger
DON P. ROBERTS………………………………………. Producer
YONA D. ROBERTS.……………………………..….. Producer
CHRISTINE L. BARKLEY …………………………… President and CEO, Creative Booking Agency

Black Star Drum Line was created and founded in 2008 by director Joey B. Banks to give kids in the Madison community an opportunity for creative expression through the “Percussive Arts”. Director Joey B. Banks incorporates diversity, respect for self and others, unity and mastery as the core of the youth development model he developed working as a youth development professional for over 20 years in the Madison area. The group has recorded 3 CD’s and 3 music videos and has performed with many local performers, which include, The Handphibians, Rob Dz, Keon Andre, Pretty Boy Hefner, Lucas Koehler, Jeff Weiss, Stefan Truesdell, Gabe Burdulis, Anthony Lamarr and Bradley Thomas (DLO).

Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and five galleries where national and international touring artists, ten resident companies and hundreds of local artists engage people in over half a million educational and artistic experiences each year. Overture.org