A documentary about Tacoma.
It’s magic.
A story told through the iconic Lincoln High School Drumline. Formed through pressure.
Against the clock, they prepare to perform the backing beat for a live rap-cypher featuring some of Tacoma’s most skilled hip-hop artists. The LHS Drumline reminds us who we are capable of being as a community.
WATCH THE TRAILER
The Documentary
In the first weeks of a new school year, the Lincoln High School Drumline races against the clock toward the biggest performance of their year: laying the backing beat for a live rap cypher featuring some of Tacoma's most skilled hip-hop artists.
Sixteen Bars follows the discipline, mentorship, and legacy that built one of Tacoma's most celebrated music programs, and asks what it takes to be ready when your one shot arrives.
A documentary made to remind Tacoma this is a place greatness comes from, told sixteen bars at a time.
The Premiere
Day: November 12, 2026
Time: 4:30PM | 6:30PM
Venue: Drost Auditorium at Lincoln High School
THE LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL DRUMLINE
At Lincoln High School, drumline goes beyond the performance.
It’s a community built through discipline, trust, mentorship, and years of tradition passed from one group of students to the next
The students you’ll meet in Sixteen Bars are part of a legacy that reaches far beyond a single performance. They’re learning from the people who came before them while becoming the people who will carry it forward.
Four Emcees.
Sixteen Bars Each.
Backed live by the Lincoln High School Drumline.
Each year, the ten hosts Tacoma's Cypher, a platform built to honor and uplift the city's next generation of Emcees. This year, that stage meets the Lincoln High School Drumline.
TED BROWN MUSIC
Since 1970, Ted Brown Music has been part of the fabric of Washington music education. Their team travels the state daily, bringing instruments, supplies, and hands-on expertise to schools big and small, making free on-site repairs at competitions and festivals along the way.
That same commitment is what brought Ted Brown Music to Lincoln High School's drumline, from loaning instruments to repair work happening behind the scenes.
Their support of Sixteen Bars comes from the same place that's driven them for over 50 years: showing up for the next generation of musicians, one classroom and one instrument at a time.
