SELMA – Lines were drawn and the battle drums began to play. Selma High School and Northridge High School in Tuscaloosa squared off in the first ever Taylorville Battle of the Drumlines Saturday afternoon.

“Taylorville wanted to have a drumline competition to promote music,” said General Manager Eddie Walker. “Schools are having to cut back and a lot of times that means they do away with the arts. We just want to encourage young people to continue their interest in music.”

First up was the hometown favorite – Selma High School Saints. Their line of 16 people played for their allotted time. They emphasized all the components of the line –quads, solo snare, cymbals and bass drum – at one time or another.

Next Northridge Jaguars stepped up. Their line was slightly smaller with only 11 people, but they had all the elements of the Selma High School drumline.

Eric Bailey had the hard task of judging the two lines. Mr. Bailey looked for things like musicianship, technique and execution. He was judging the lines to see which group was the most precise and which group used dynamics the best. He also looked for things such as showmanship, style, emotion and many more aspects. Both teams came out and delivered an excellent performance, but in the end Mr. Bailey deemed Northridge the victor in the battle.

Taylorville hopes to hold another battle in the future.

“This is a type of thing we want to be an annual event,” Mr. Walker said. “It encourages young people to keep trying.