American Band

In the spirit of Friday Night Lights comes the stirring story of a marching band from small-town middle America.

Every fall, marching bands take to the field in a uniquely American ritual. For millions of kids, band is a rite of passage—a first foray into leadership and adult responsibility, and a chance to learn what it means to be a part of a community. Nowhere is band more serious than at Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana, where the entire town is involved with the success of its defending state champion band, the Marching Minutemen.

In the place where this tradition may have originated, in the city that became the band instrument capital of the world, band is a religion. But it’s not the only religion—as legendary director Max Jones discovers when conflicting notions of faith and purpose collide during his final year as director. In this intimate chronicle, the band marches through a season that starts in hope and promise, progresses through uncertainty and disappointment, and ends, ultimately, in redemption.