Boston's HG Drumline celebrates African American musical phenomenon, with serious style

Youth marching bands and drumlines are a relative rarity in Boston, compared with many cities in the South.

The Hamilton-Garrett Center for Music & Art in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood wants to change that. It’s formed a youth drumline as a way to celebrate an African American musical phenomenon.

The HG drumline emulates the big-league drumlines found at many Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HCBUs, in the South that feature scores of drummers performing choreographed feats of musical and cultural artistry.

GBH News' Meg Woolhouse visited Hamilton-Garrett for a practice, and spoke with some of the students about the experience, and their hopes for the drumline's future.


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