‘Like my own little family.’ Marching band poll winners are ‘The Pride of the Mountains.’

One thing’s for sure — Kentuckians love their marching bands.

Last week, the Herald-Leader published a non-scientific poll that included more than 90 of the most successful marching bands across the state in order to find out which bands were the most beloved. And the turnout was remarkable.

Marching band supporters cast more than 1.1 million votes in the Herald-Leader’s poll, in which readers were allowed to vote as many times as they liked. Here’s how the top 15 shook out:

1. Lee County (38%)

2. Paul Laurence Dunbar (26%)

3. Beechwood (14%)

4. East Jessamine (5%)

5. Estill County (4%)

6. Union County (2%)

7. Corbin (2%)

8. Madison Central (1%)

9. Southwestern (1%)

10. Christian County (1%)

11. Woodford County (1%)

12. Henry Clay (1%)

13. Bourbon County (1%)

14. Powell County ( less than 1%)

15. Anderson County (less than 1%)

In all, every one of the 94 schools in the poll received votes.

“Band, I can’t really put into words,” Lee County head percussionist Charlie Lyons said. “All of my best friends are standing around me. I don’t really know what to say.”

The winning marching band, Lee County High School, sits in the Eastern Kentucky county of the same name, which has a population of less than 8,000. The school’s enrollment is about 300 students, 30 of whom are involved in band. It’s difficult to track the number of students whose lives have been affected by this band over the course of its history. On its Facebook page, the band is known as “The Pride of the Mountains.”

The Herald-Leader spoke with Lee County band director Tony Barrett and a handful of Lee County band seniors after the poll results were finalized.

Barrett, a 1988 graduate of Lee County, was a trumpeter in the band. He returned in 1999 to serve as the band director before leaving in 2009. In 2021, he made his return to the program because “his heart was home.”

“When I first started we had eight kids,” Barrett said. “And we’re up to 30. And I’ve got a growing program with a pretty strong middle school program coming up. And the community’s really rallied. And we have the best kids in the world, and some of the best band parents and supporters that I could ever imagine. I’m really thankful.”

Band isn’t necessarily for everybody, but there is most certainly a place for everybody in the Lee County band.

Many students, like senior flute player Aleah McIntosh and senior trombonist Destiny Thompson, joined band years ago because their friends did. They both found what so many band kids found: a larger community.

“I saw that some of my friends and people that I would hang around more (were in band),” McIntosh said. “So I decided to join band. And then, now, it’s just become my whole life. I wouldn’t have the people that I know now if I didn’t join band. And I probably wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t have my family and everybody around me.”

And, in the Lee County band, it doesn’t take long to fall in love with it.

“After I picked up my instrument and I played a few notes,” Thompson said. “I realized this is what I want to do. And band is my whole life, like I don’t know where I would be if I wasn’t in band. It is my whole heart.”

Some students find themselves drawn to band because of an internal musicality. Senior flute player Allison Raines comes from a musical family. And, other than marching, she doesn’t consider herself to “be very sporty.” But the impact of the band on her life has been immeasurable.

“I found my way to the band program because my parents, and my entire family, is really musical,” Raines said. “So I was like, ‘You know, I don’t have any other thing that I want to do.’ ... And I was like, ‘I think I can do a music program.’”

Other students have found so much joy in participating in band that they’d like to pursue it as a career, as is the case with senior tenor saxophonist Landon Noble.

“I love band,” Noble said. “It’s kind of like my own little family. Hopefully I can do it for a living one day. I’d like to be a music educator.”

For Barrett, working with the students and watching them develop a love of music and friendship with one another is both the ultimate goal and reward.

“I love these kids,” Barrett said. “My heart just goes out to them. And I know that that’s my passion, to be a band director. And I want to do everything I can to instill the love of music and the love for each other. You know, bands aren’t often recognized as sports teams or athletic teams but I can tell you this: we do multi-hour practices out in the heat and it’s definitely something that is in my heart to do. And you know, band is a family. I’ve got a lot of kids that have graduated years ago and said, ‘Band saved me.’ So if there’s anything that I can do to help save a kid, to help them find their place, to help them find their family when they don’t have one at home. You know, that’s my goal.”

The following is from a speech delivered two years ago by Raines, who shared it in hopes of expressing her appreciation for what band has meant to her life:

“I’m a piece of a puzzle who was out of the box for so long. When I found my complete puzzle, which is the band, it was a perfect fit. So I just hope people find their other pieces to complete their puzzle. That’s what band means to me.”