Our story begins in the fall of 2022. Our founders Misty, Doug, and Albert Olmstead, along with Jordan Roberts, had just completed a season of all-age drum corps as either participants or supporting one another in the activity with their kids. It was a rigorous time of travel six hours from Michigan, one way, for rehearsals and performances--culminating at DCA Championships in Rochester, New York.
As the dust settled on the season and the post-tour emotions set in, Misty had her pulse on the feelings of the family. She knew they were now hooked, but the single season had been so taxing on their family that another summer of constant travel would not be in the cards. However, no opportunity for all-age drum corps was closer than the nearly 400 mile journey embarked on that summer.
And so, the question was asked which would go down in our corps' history forever: "what does it take to start one of these things"?
To answer this question, our four founding members worked through the winter of 2022 to set their sights on fielding a drum corps from Michigan in 2023. A blazing two months of work began. Misty set to building a board of directors and creating the non-profit structure, Doug pulled together the logistics of a drum corps season, Albert leaned on networking resources to secure rehearsal space, and Jordan leveraged professional connections to provide instruments and gear for the corps.
So it was that, by November of 2022, twenty musicians from all backgrounds and experience levels came together for the very first Northern Lights Drum & Bugle Corps open house audition. That number would expand to forty-two members come the summer of the 2023 season, earning a Gold Rating at the SoundSport International Music & Food Festival in our first year of competition, and Northern Lights was born.
Throughout our first season, a purpose became clear to our founders -- that drum corps should be accessible to all who seek it, free of barriers. As the corps continues to grow and expand, applying for DCI All-Age Class membership by the 2026 season, our founders put in writing the mission, purpose, and motivating values that drive the organization of the corps. You can read the motivators below.
Drum corps belongs to everyone-- and we want to see you on the field with us in a future season! Feel free to head over to our audition information page for more info on how to join the Northern Lights!
As the dust settled on the season and the post-tour emotions set in, Misty had her pulse on the feelings of the family. She knew they were now hooked, but the single season had been so taxing on their family that another summer of constant travel would not be in the cards. However, no opportunity for all-age drum corps was closer than the nearly 400 mile journey embarked on that summer.
And so, the question was asked which would go down in our corps' history forever: "what does it take to start one of these things"?
To answer this question, our four founding members worked through the winter of 2022 to set their sights on fielding a drum corps from Michigan in 2023. A blazing two months of work began. Misty set to building a board of directors and creating the non-profit structure, Doug pulled together the logistics of a drum corps season, Albert leaned on networking resources to secure rehearsal space, and Jordan leveraged professional connections to provide instruments and gear for the corps.
So it was that, by November of 2022, twenty musicians from all backgrounds and experience levels came together for the very first Northern Lights Drum & Bugle Corps open house audition. That number would expand to forty-two members come the summer of the 2023 season, earning a Gold Rating at the SoundSport International Music & Food Festival in our first year of competition, and Northern Lights was born.
Throughout our first season, a purpose became clear to our founders -- that drum corps should be accessible to all who seek it, free of barriers. As the corps continues to grow and expand, applying for DCI All-Age Class membership by the 2026 season, our founders put in writing the mission, purpose, and motivating values that drive the organization of the corps. You can read the motivators below.
Drum corps belongs to everyone-- and we want to see you on the field with us in a future season! Feel free to head over to our audition information page for more info on how to join the Northern Lights!