‘One person is so important’: Local drum line competes with message of suicide awareness

IDAHO FALLS — Drums boom as youngsters intricately move about the floor. Pillars of light shift around the stage area, slowly going out, one by one. Finally, one light is left to signify how important one light, one life, can be.

This is part of local indoor percussion ensemble North Star Independent’s performance “Every 1,” which is based on the group’s current suicide awareness theme.

And as the ensemble recently finished second in their division during regional finals, they are preparing for the World Championships next month in Ohio.

But according to the directors and musicians, winning isn’t necessarily their main goal — that, they say, is to reach people with their message of suicide awareness.

“Play your butts off and melt some hearts,” one musician recalled their director telling them earlier this season.

The drum line was co-founded in 2017 by husband-and-wife duo Jason Jennings and Sarah Jennings, who now co-direct the group. According to its website, North Star Independent was the first Idaho indoor percussion ensemble to attend the WGI Percussion World Championships in 2022.

The organization has 36 performing members, ranging in age from 14 to 22. It also has nine staff members.

Many of the performing members are local kids from Bonneville High School, Idaho Falls High School and Thunder Ridge High School. Some older members are from Brigham Young University-Idaho, Boise State University and Idaho State University. Some members also travel very far to be part of the drum line, including one from Nebraska.

‘One More Light’

Sarah Jennings said they adopted this year’s theme after returning from the world championships last year to some devastating news.

“Two young members of our community had died by suicide in that time we were gone,” she said. “And one of them was the friend of one of our members. So it really hit close to home, and we just knew right then it was the time to get this message out there and to tell people that everyone matters.”

Jason Jennings said one song they immediately knew they wanted to include in this year’s performances was “One More Light” by Linkin Park. In the song, its lyrics state, “Who cares if one more light goes out? In the sky of a million stars … Well, I do.”

“There’s millions of kids, millions of people around, but if one light goes out, it matters to somebody. It matters to us,” Jason said. “So that’s why we have the lights on the court, those pillars.”

And the show means a lot to many on the team.

‘It showed me my worth again’

Rachel Johnson is a 19-year-old who performs with North Star Independent. In her first season, Johnson played synth and guitar. For this season, and last, she’s played tenor drums.

“At the beginning of this season, when we were asked who in the room had been affected by suicide, I think I watched every single hand go up,” Johnson said.

For Johnson in particular, she said not only has she known others who took their own life, but she has also felt the same emotions herself.

“I could count on one hand the people in my life who knew — at the time — when I didn’t want to be alive,” Johnson said.

“It had been going on a while when I eventually joined North Star for my first season,” Johnson said. “And I cannot put into words what this group has done for me, because North Star provided safety, a break from reality, a place to breathe, a family, a home, a community within sport.”

“Most importantly, it showed me my worth again,” she said.

Johnson said it’s quite the rush to play at competitions. The energetic musicians line up with their instruments and props, and anxiously wait for their show to start. The band director yells out, “Go!” and the pressure is suddenly on.

“It’s like this rush of adrenaline, and everybody books it,” Johnson said.

It’s a timed event, so every second counts. They pull the floor out and set up the props. The front ensemble starts plugging in their equipment. And this year, the synths immediately start playing a preshow sample to get the audience drawn in quickly. Then, Johnson said, she and others grab their drums, and the real show begins.

“Typically, by the end of runs, there will be a lot of people crying and they’re just feeling it,” she said. “Nothing beats the feeling. Nothing beats it. It’s so amazing.”

As the performance ends, the director yells out, “Go!” again, and everyone pulls their equipment off the gym floor. They must all be gone and past a mark before their timer runs out.

And still, the symbolism of the show lingers.

Johnson said during the performance, as all the pillars of light go out, signifying those lost to suicide, one light flickers but remains at the end of the show.

“I think of myself, where I’m like: Man, I almost wanted to do that too,” she said. “And then this light flickers back on — it’s like: Yeah, I survived. I did it. I made it.

“And it’s just so impactful. That one person can stay; one person is so important to so many other people.”

Upcoming performance

North Star Independent will hold a community performance at Bonneville High School, 3165 E. Iona Road, on Saturday, April 4, at 5 p.m. The event will also feature performances by Hillcrest Percussion Ensemble and Stasia Acrobats.

Tickets are $7 per person and $25 per family, up to five people. Children 5 years old and younger get in free. Tickets are available on North Star Independent’s website or at the door.

As they prepare for the 2026 Percussion World Championships, April 14-19 in Dayton, Ohio, Jason Jennings said the group is also seeking donations to help cover travel costs. He said it costs almost $7,000 to get their equipment there and back. To make a donation, which is tax-deductible as North Star Independent is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, visit the donation page on the group’s website.