Photograph by Colin Murphy
Since Cliff Norris joined the band Atlanta Freedom in 1996, he is executed “a bit little bit of every thing.” He served as group president for 4 years and is now director of selling and improvement. However firstly, Norris considers himself a tuba participant. He has carried out at presidential inaugurations and carried out with fellow band members throughout three totally different continents. “I as soon as checked a sousaphone as baggage from Amsterdam and Paris to Sydney,” he says.
Atlanta Freedom Bands, which began in 1994, will function grand marshals for the primary time at this yr’s Atlanta Delight Competition, which takes place Oct. 12 and 13. Every year, a number of people and organizations are nominated by their communities and chosen as Delight Grand Marshals Based mostly on their contribution to LGBTQ+ life; Different marshals this yr embrace Dr. Elijah Nicholas, founding father of The International Trans Fairness Challenge and native nonprofit Misplaced-N-Discovered Youth. 4 teams from the Atlanta Freedom Band will march collectively within the parade, performing a slate of iconic pop songs. “It is a fan favourite this yr,” mentioned marching band chief Candace Weslowski Miller.
Photograph by Colin Murphy
They will even lead the dignity guard, which carries the LGBTQ+ id flag on the entrance of the parade. “It is an enormous effort as a result of we acquired 19 [flags] That we stock,” mentioned Norris. “But it surely’s a matter of satisfaction for us to have the ability to symbolize the group on this approach. We all the time inform individuals, we’ll carry your flag, as a result of we have got somebody within the band who can relate to each considered one of them.”
Over time, Norris has seen a dramatic improve within the range of the band’s membership—a improvement not misplaced on Freedom Band President Jason Morley. “Atlanta, sadly, tends to be a really segregated queer group,” Morley says, “and we wish to cross these boundaries and convey individuals collectively throughout the spectrum.”
Photograph by Colin Murphy
At 150 and counting, Atlanta Freedom Bands has returned to—and now surpassed—its pre-pandemic numbers. Along with its trademark marching band and pom-pom-spinning coloration guard, new members are drawn to the group’s live performance band, which performs works by LGBTQ+ composers and composers of coloration, in addition to its MetroGnomes, a big-band ensemble. Headline jazzy seasonal occasions, similar to December’s “Swing within the Holidays.”
“The band has all the time been a secure area for LGBTQ+ individuals,” Morley mentioned “As children at school, the band was a refuge for us, and now it has turn into our refuge as adults. No matter our background or political persuasion or our gender or sexuality we are able to come collectively in a secure area and make music collectively.”
This text appeared in our October 2024 difficulty.
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