The Lafayette High School Marching Band in Lexington, Kentucky, won its 24th first place 5A award for their show, 4 Nations, at the KMEA Marching Band Competition on Oct. 26, 2024.
[Watch a video of the show here.]
Champions!
The week prior on Oct. 19, the band won first place in the Bands of America Regional Marching Band Competition in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Under the direction of Robert “Dee” Bishop and assistant directors Chris Strange, Aaron Jones, and John Bowmer, 4 Nations is a powerful, riveting show depicting conflict, war, and the dangers of a world out of balance.
The show draws its theme from the famous animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, an Asian-inspired world made up of 4 nations: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire.
In Lafayette’s show, the band is divided into these 4 nations. The costumes, music, props, and drill (formations and choreography) all tell the story of a world at war with itself.
The show begins with each nation stationed at a different corner of the field.
Earth on its mountain, Water on its ocean, and Air in the skies all wear bright robes of green, blue, and yellow, respectively. In contrast, the Fire nation is outfitted with black and red uniforms within its circle of flames.
As the music starts, a female voiceover gives the background to the story.
“Long ago, the 4 Nations lived together in harmony.”
But as the drumbeats of war emerge from the blazing circle, another voice overtakes the narrator. “Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.”
With brass blaring, the 4 Nations rush to the middle of field, forming into lines, phalanxes, and wedges to begin the battle.
Punctuated by aggressive syncopations from the drumline, the Fire nation color guard leads the charge against the other nations, driving and dividing them into chaotic clusters of confusion.
On the mountain, the leader of the Earth nation is violently killed and thrown to the ground, ending the first movement.
The second movement begins with a mournful cello as the Earth nation bows in defeat.
The Water and Air nations can only retreat and watch with grief from a distance as the members of Earth nation remove their green robes and drop them, one by one, on the sideline.
The pathos of this scene cannot be overstated. Because we realize in this moment that this is more than just the story of a fantasy world.
This is our world.
The Fire nation symbolizes the aggressive nature of humanity, its desire for power and strength. When kept in balance with the other elements, Fire can serve its purpose in constructive ways by providing light and heat.
But when left unchecked, Fire consumes everything.
We need only recall the systematic burning of the Amazon rainforests, the wildfires across the world, and the charred lands in Gaza, Ukraine, and other war-torn areas to see the devastation caused by human aggression against people and the planet.
The comet
As a mournful melody floats across the field from a captured quartet of Air and Water woodwinds, a fireball comet soars across the sky.
In Avatar lore, the comet gives the Fire nation the power to overtake the other tribes. Emboldened by this celestial event, lord of the Fire nation begins a campaign of genocide.
In the show, the Air and Water nations are marched across the field by the former Earth nation who now do the bidding of their conquerors. The ocean in the upper left corner of the field turns to fire.
Meanwhile, the color guard clashes fire and water flags against each other until the Water and Air nations fall in defeat.
Again, this story is more than just a metaphor.
Our oceans, air, and land are devoured by heat from the fires of human consumption. Species cannot adapt and are dying out. In addition to human genocide, we are also witnessing an ecocide, the decimation of animals and plants within the Earth, Water, and Air nations. Scientists call it the 6th Great Extinction because of the speed at which our planet is losing species.
This eco-grief is heard as the cello and flute weave a heartbreaking duet while we watch the conquered nations stripped of their robes. Like Earth before them, they are subsumed into the Fire nation.
Then in the third and final movement, the melodic cello is replaced with the grinding sound of an electric guitar as the band marches into an ominous fire formation.
Stravinsky’s Fire Bird Suite fans the dark flame, driving into the final reprise. As the band solidifies into its famous “wall of sound” at the finale, a blazing column rises from the center of the Fire nation.
Rushing to the edge of the field, the message from this fearsome army is clear: you’re next!
Domination
In The Last Airbender story, a young hero is eventually revived from a frozen tomb and begins his quest to learn the secrets of “bending” the elements of earth, water, air, and fire. Together with his friends, they set out to defeat the Fire nation and restore balance to the world.
But we are not at that point of the story in Lafayette’s show. Instead, we experience the moment when domination is complete and no hope remains.
Thus, 4 Nations is a riveting and heartbreaking cautionary tale.
As we watch the marching band, once arrayed in beautiful robes, now reduced to a single black and red uniform, we see a reflection of what happens when a single nation dominates.
This depiction of totalitarianism holds a mirror up to us. There are forces in our own time that are hellbent on forcing others into submission, or worse, violently eliminating them altogether.
The desire to align with hatred, anger, and unrelenting power can be very seductive. Adrenaline surges through us as we watch the Fire nation overtake each nation one by one.
But what is left when Fire has consumed everything and everyone? Is this really what we want for our world?
Is this who we want to be?
These are the uncomfortable questions that linger even as we cheer Lafayette’s stunning performance.
And it’s a reminder that the marching arts can be more than just entertainment.
As Lafayette has shown us in previous years, a marching band show can offer social commentary as well.
Last year’s 2023 sci-fi show, A New Dawn, depicted the search for “home” even as our own planet’s capacity for sustaining life is increasingly compromised.
Their 2021 show, Peace of Mind, explored the themes of loss and hope after nearly two years of pandemic, upheaval, and loss.
And their 2019 show, Seeking Refuge, showed us children in cages as headlines about separated immigrant families dominated the news. But more than merely making a political statement, the show was prophetic, because it presented not just a critique of the world as it is. Instead, it lifted up a vision of what it can and should be.
A profound warning
Capping a four-month-long season of daily practices six days a week, the Pride of the Bluegrass this time gave us a show of raw power, drama, and in-your-face aggression. And I believe it warns us about this moment in our own time and our own society.
To be clear – this is my own interpretation of the show; others may see the show differently. Works of art are always open to different interpretations.
But no matter how you understand its meaning, there is no doubt about the level of passion and dedication these students have put into this performance of 4 Nations.
Especially as the parent of a senior and co-section leader of the drumline, this show has been gut-wrenching for me – but in a good way.
Both of my children have performed with the Lafayette Marching Band. My husband has coached the drumline. And I have served with the AMAZING Food Crew.
The last eight years of our lives have been dedicated to this incredible program. We are so grateful for all the volunteers, music arrangers, drill writers, instructors, and directors who make this experience possible.
So, while Lafayette’s 4 Nations show is unmatched in its energy, strength, and intensity, we also know:
There will be more award-winning shows to come!
And our family will be cheering in the stands when they do!
Because once you become part of the Lafayette family —
You will always know where to find your 4 Nations.
*MUSICAL SELECTIONS for 4 NATIONS INCLUDE:
“Sokonashi Ana” by Joe Hisaishi; “The Rite of Spring” by Igor Stravinsky; “The Journey to the West” by Joe Hisaishi; “One Summer’s Day” by Joe Hisaishi; “The Dragon Boy” by Joe Hisaishi; “Attack on Titan” by Hiroyuki Sawano Rie; and “The Firebird Suite” by Igor Stravinsky
Author’s note: All photos in this piece are by the author or from the Lafayette Photo Crew and used with permission.
Read also:
A New Dawn: Lafayette High School Marching Band Brings Us Home
Lafayette Marching Band’s “Peace of Mind” is Just What We Needed
Seeking Refuge: The Surprising Prophetic Vision of a Marching Band
The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade is the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary in Kentucky and ordained in the ELCA. Dr. Schade does not speak for LTS or the ELCA. Neither does she speak for the Lafayette High School Marching Band or Lafayette High School. Her opinions are her own.
Leah is the author of Preaching and Social Issues: Tools and Tactics for Empowering Your Prophetic Voice (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024), Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019) and Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit (Chalice Press, 2015). She is the co-editor of Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). Her book, Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation, was co-authored with Jerry L. Sumney and Emily Askew (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023).
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