Atlanta's "Baddest Band in the Land" helps students build community pride through performances

They have the moves, music, and energy you'd expect from a historically Black college or university (HBCU) marching band, but these are not college students.

They are members of the South Atlanta High School Marching Band, a program that proudly calls itself the "Baddest Band in the Land."

Behind the high-energy performances, elaborate dance routines, and booming drumline is band director Jamont Lane, a man whose connection to the school goes back more than three decades.

For Lane, leading the high school band is a dream he has had since he was teenager.

"Around my 10th or 11th grade year, that's when I started telling myself, 'Hmm, I really loved the band. I think I want to go and become a band director," Lane told CBS News Atlanta. "After I started saying I wanted to become a band director, I started telling myself, 'Wouldn't it be great if I could end up back at my high school one day as the band director?'"

That dream eventually became reality.

Lane was part of South Atlanta High School's first graduating class in 1995, following the merger of Fulton High School and Walter F. George High School.

His passion for marching bands developed during his time at George and South Atlanta and continued at Morris Brown College, where he experienced the rich traditions and showmanship associated with HBCU marching bands.

When he returned to South Atlanta as band director, he brought those influences with him, but Lane had a bigger idea for the program.

"I had a vision, a vision that told me one day I want everybody to know that we are the best band in the land," Lane said.

He wanted South Atlanta's marching band to become a source of pride for the entire school community.

Getting there meant changing how the band performed, recruited students, and presented itself.

"So I started accepting performances. We started doing more traveling. I started changing up some of the ideas and some of the routines," he recalled.

As the performances evolved, so did the program.

"The band started growing and getting bigger. More students started to participate in the band," Lane said.

More than a decade ago, the band's signature identity began taking shape.

Today, South Atlanta's students embrace the reputation Lane worked to establish.

"We're the baddest band in Atlanta!" junior drum major Kaydon Sims said.

While the band's elaborate routines and energetic performances may grab an audience's attention, Lane says discipline is the driving force behind its success.

"I definitely believe I am a disciplinarian," Lane said. "There's nothing we can do without discipline first."

His philosophy is simple: Students should make an impression before they even play their first note.

"I'm always telling them they see us before they hear us," Lane said.

That means maintaining high standards for everything from uniforms and marching formations to how students handle their instruments.

"I don't believe in putting instruments on the ground," Lane said.

Sims says those expectations extend well beyond performances. Students are expected to follow rules about jewelry, remain attentive when someone is on the podium, and avoid horseplay during rehearsals.

"We know when to be serious. We know when not to be, and he makes sure that we do have fun," Sims said.

Being part of the band also requires physical preparation.

"We run, we condition, we run around our school," Sims said. "We're learning all these different physical routines that can be draining for most."

The hard work helps create something bigger than a marching band.

"We stand up together. We sit down together," Sims said. "As much as we are a family, we're as much discipline."

For Lane, the program represents a full-circle moment more than 30 years in the making.

He was once a student walking the same hallways, learning to play music and dreaming of becoming a band director. Now, he's helping another generation of South Atlanta students develop their own skills, confidence, and sense of community.

And while the band's performances are designed to entertain, Lane told us his vision has always been about building something his students and school can take pride in.

"We wanted everybody to know that 800 Hutchens Road is the place where the baddest band is," Lane said.

Want to see the "Baddest Band in the Land" in action? The South Atlanta High School marching band performs at the school's football games.