All-Age Corps is for Families

Note from the editor: As we move forward through Spring Training and into the 2026 summer season, the corps media staff are excited to share stories from a variety of different backgrounds from within the corps. Previously, you read about the experience from 4-year veteran conductor Brittany Darling and grey-beard rookie Ron Roys. Now, enjoy the perspectives from one of the many families who make up Northern Light's membership. We asked each of the Harvey's (Kevin, Kim, Ian, and Alex) to write a little bit about their musical journeys and experiences with drum corps.

​Kim Harvey - 1 Year Vet

My musical journey began like many others; in 6th grade when I started to play flute in my middle school band.  While it took awhile for me to find my groove, I fell in love with band very quickly. Growing up, we were not an overly musical family. My dad had played trombone not only in school but also in the Air Force.  We also listened to music all the time, and I took dance lessons off and on through elementary school. I also became far more serious about dance in middle and high school.

I, of course, marched in the Big Red Marching Machine however.  In our school, freshmen rarely marched, particularly if you played an instrument as common as the flute.  I put forth the effort and was moved into Honors/Marching band as a sophomore.  We marched 13 flutes that year.  This turned out to be an amazing thing, as it was the only year that I was able to march under Robert Clark as director.  The next summer, he left Port Huron High School to move on to administration in Rochester.  Under his leadership, I was bit by the band bug.  Like my husband Kevin (later in the article), I also remember watching DCI Blue Water Brass and loving it.  At that time, I did not really watch the Color Guard.  I loved dance, but I was all about MARCHING.  I never thought I’d be able to be in DCI, as I played flute, so it was never on my radar.  I don’t recall our Color Guard being particularly interesting, so I never connected my dance background with the Marching Arts.

After high school, I took a couple of dance classes here and there, and I took one Campus Band class in college, but music took a back burner to life for the next 20 years or so!

Years later, my sons Ian and Alex joined Marching Band at Linden High School. Before that, when they were choosing instruments, I decreed that there would be no squeaky reeds in my house. With their options limited to flute and brass, they both went for brass.  I joined the Boosters and have been involved in a support role that way as well as a chaperone ever since. I recall having played DCI shows for the boys as early as 6th grade, and telling them about Drum Corps that early, also. They do not remember this and give all of the credit for introducing them to DCI to their friends. :P

​In any case, as soon as they started to show interest, Kevin dove right into it, as well. Ian and I took a little longer.  The year that Kevin and Alex went to the DCI Finals in Indy, Ian and I went to Fan Expo in Chicago (much like a Comicon).  That fall, however, of 2023, EVERYTHING changed. Kevin and Alex joined Northern Lights. Drum Corps became a way of life in our household, even if Ian and I were not actually participating. 

By Finals of 2024, Ian and I were hooked, as well. Alex was planning on joining a world-class corps, Kevin was returning to Northern Lights and Ian was joining.  I felt a little left out. I didn’t play an instrument that would work for Drum Corps, and I had never touched a flag in my life, but I did have a fairly strong dance background.  I decided to give Color Guard a try.  It was a wonderful experience to dance again and to perform on Lucas Oil with my husband and one of my sons while the other one was also performing on the same field with Music City out of Nashville.

While I have decided that Color Guard isn’t really for me moving forward, my experience with Northern Light has been wonderful and I am so happy to be part of the family. With my husband and BOTH boys marching together at Northern Lights this year, I am looking forward to helping out in any way that I can to make this an unforgettable experience for all of those who are on the field, which includes volunteering and working on feeding everyone!

​Alex Harvey - 2 Year Vet

​Hello, My name is Alex Harvey. I am a senior at Linden High school and I am going to be studying music composition next semester at Michigan State University.

I would say my marching journey began when my parents would bring me to watch the Spartan Marching Band as a child. Previously, I had begun with piano lessons so I was already developing my musical abilities. The experiences I've had watching the SMB created this sense within me that I would march someday. My formal start to marching band began in 2020 when I joined the Linden Marching Band as a seventh grader. Because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, we had to wear masks while marching, which was uncomfortable and a bit awkward start to my marching experience, but it was still good enough to pursue another year, then another year, then another...

During the off season I would always miss marching. Visions of marching would fill up my head as I sat daydreaming. As a result, I began consuming marching media and inevitably I happened upon a drum corps show.

I was hooked.

I watched another, another, then another, and eventually I convinced my dad to see the tour premiere one year in Detroit, which made me so excited I bought a ton of patches and a pair of Phantom Regiment sunglasses that I would wear for years despite them falling apart.

In 2023, my father and I attended the world championships. There we did the whole shebang. Prelims, Semifinals, SoundSport, and Finals. Watching Troopers show that year I decided that I will do drum corps in one way or another. Once the season had ended I almost immediately decided on Northern Lights for my next summer. Northern Lights provided me with the opportunity to save money, make friends, and develop my skills while still being able to get drum corps experience. That first summer of drum corps is one I will never forget. I remember putting on my corps bibbers for that first time and feeling them fit just right, like this was what I'm meant to do. 

However, while my time with Northern Lights was fun I had a higher calling towards world class that next summer. I still attended an audition camp but I ended up touring with Music City the next summer. There I realized what it was like to march on an everyday basis, what it meant to make every rep count to the extreme.

Despite the amazing experience that was touring with Music City, I auditioned for a few other open class corps closer to me in the Midwest area. I was not offered a contract for this summer, so I decided to return home with Northern Lights again. While yes, to an outside observer it may seem like a step in the opposite direction, this is nowhere near true. Northern Lights is a home to me, and I feel I can best foster my talents and abilities here this summer as a leader and veteran. The community and staff at Northern Lights is world class in all details but name. The way they care for you is on par with any other. 
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Ultimately that brings me to today. Walking on the field in Belding Michigan ready to make this summer the best so far.

​Ian Harvey - 2 Year Vet

​Hi, my name is Ian Harvey.

My journey in music started very young. I also began with piano lessons, where I learned the fundamentals of music. My piano journey continued into middle school, where I decided to stop piano and pursue the trombone, which became my primary instrument through the rest of my K-12 education.

Starting in my freshman year, I joined the Linden marching band where I was forced to use a marching baritone, because like many competitive programs our school did not march trombones. Also, this began the family journey through marching music, as my brother Alex joined me in the marching band as a seventh grader. During my time in high school, I participated in solo and ensemble twice, with my first time being a solo where I scored a 1 at districts, but I opted not to go to states as it interfered with a robotics competition. But my second time in high school was during my senior year, when I went with an ensemble; we received a 1 at districts and a 2 at states, honing my musical craft.

During my time in the marching band, we competed in MCBA competitions and made State Championships all 3 times. My last year was our highest placing show since COVID, where we took 4th place with a score of 78.55. After the 2022 school year ended, I went with a few friends to watch one of the Legends home shows at Lakeland High School. This sparked my interest in DCI and really made me understand what DCI was. The next summer (2023), my brother (Alex) and father (Kevin) went to the DCI Semifinals and Finals, where they met Doug and Misty with Northern Lights on the SoundSport stage, and decided there and then that they were going to march with Northern Lights the following year. I had opted not to march the following year because I would be starting college in July. The unfortunate thing I learned is that the college I was attending has no band program, but it provided the academic program I wanted. After watching my brother and father perform at the Midwest Premiere in Rockford, Michigan, I made up my mind to march with Northern Lights during the 2025 season. I had a blast working with both parents (Kevin and Kim) and multiple friends from my hometown to put on "Sweet Dreams" with Northern Lights--a show about night terrors. During the 2025 season, my brother marched with Music City, which was such a blast to watch him perform, even if it was mostly through FloMarching...

One great thing that came out of my 2025 year was getting to march on Lucas Oil Stadium. Marching on the same field as the Blue Devils, Bluecoats, etc., was breathtaking. It took me back to when we’d walk onto Ford Field during the MCBA state championships. Now, I'm marching another season with Northern Lights to do it all again, this time with my dad and brother, and we will be marching two shows at Lucas Oil this year. #BWTNLA

Kevin Harvey - 3 Year Vet

​Hi, my name is Kevin Harvey, and I'm in my third year with Northern Lights Drum and Bugle Corps.

I first got started in the marching arts with the Big Red Marching Machine in Port Huron. We used to get extra credit if we helped out with the Blue Water Brass DCI event in town, and that's where I got my first taste of drum corps.
 
Watching corps like Pioneer, the Kilties, Glassmen, the Bluecoats, and the Cavaliers on our home field in the mid 1990's was jaw-dropping. I was amazed by the drill and blown away by the power of the brass. Unfortunately, I never had the money, the time, or the confidence to attempt to spend my summers on tour, so I thought I had left that dream behind.  

When I transferred to Michigan State, I had another opportunity to march, however. It was there that I built my confidence, and made the Spartan Marching Band by playing the baritone. The biggest thrill of my life at that point came when I first kick-stepped out of that tunnel,  with 77,000 screaming fans, watching us "Spin the S."

Life happened after college, and my musical journey went dark. My horns went up on shelves, or in storage, and it was twenty-five long years before my Bach Strad was able to sing in public again. 

When my wife Kim and I had kids in the mid 2000's, we knew that we wanted them to grow up around music. As kids, we ensured they listened to Mozart, Verdi, and Dvorak, and started them on piano lessons after we moved to Linden.
 
When they got to junior high and began band classes, they both chose brass--no surprise there. They were also scouts, and got to see their Dad pull out his old trumpet to show them bugle calls. I got into the role of band dad, helping with props and loading the trucks, but was happy watching the boys play, learn, and grow into excellent musicians.
 
Once Alex got to high school, he was playing in wind ensemble as a freshmen, and made a lot of friends with older players in high brass. They started talking about drum corps. Alex was extremely interested in it, and came home talking about those same corps I had been blown away by in my high school days. He caught the bug too, and it quickly spread to his brother and through his family and friends. We took them to see a DCI event in Michigan, (RIP Legends) and then at Ford Field. This was happening, the fire was lit. 

I was on Facebook that spring, and saw that a startup corps needed a mello player. Unfortunately it was late in the season, and the schedule conflicted with Alex's summer camp, but we made contact, and made a point to see Northern Lights in Indy.
 
We were drawn like moths to a flame. They were doing everything right: all ages, all skill levels, cost efficient, asking us to show up with effort and grow with them. Alex said that he wanted to perform, and Kim and I were ready to support him. Then he asked why I couldn't do it, too. I couldn't give him an excuse. I asked if he wanted to play with his old man, and he was... actually excited about it!
 
So my horn came off the shelf. I struggled mightily to get my chops and body in shape that first season back, but I was able to find it again and I even got to play the first notes of the 2024 DCI competition season with a solo. As we go into our third season now,  I have gotten to march with both sons and my wife, and found an amazing family in Northern Lights. This corps has welcomed me, my family, and my kid's friends. Along the way, I have met the most amazing people, with such talent, drive, and friendship that has pulled me back into the music world. I have met and learned from DCI world champions, acclaimed directors, and played music and drill written by superstars. I have taken the field again, at Lucas Oil, and done it with my family of blood and of corps. I couldn't be more thankful for this opportunity.