Rhythm X 2024 - Marimba Cam - Blackbird

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
Into the light of the dark black night
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Our show this season is structured around this poem consisting of lyrics from the song "Blackbird" by The Beatles. The show story line that I will detail below, but the story of the blackbird in the show can be thought of as a metaphor for overcoming any extreme adversity in life.

Part 1: Blackbird singing in the dead of night
You encounter a blackbird in their natural habitat, "singing in the dead of night" so to speak. The whole movement is a crescendo into the trees breaking and falling, breaking the blackbird's wings.

Part 2: Take these broken wings and learn to fly
This movement represents overcoming the adversity of having a wing broken, whether the literal wing of a blackbird or some other traumatic negative major event in life. "Learning to fly" is represented by playing increasingly more insane stuff at increasingly more insane tempos, and by the end we have worked so hard to overcome adversity, and it has paid off.

Part 3: Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
This one's complicated but from what I understand, a member of the flock (visual soloist) goes and afflicts the rest of the ensemble with blindfolds, creating the "sunken eyes". From there, another visual soloist comes out and they have a duet set to a hauntingly beautiful ballad, crescendoing into the moment where we learn to see again.

Part 4: Into the light of the dark black night
This one's pretty simple (at least I think): We're back fully recovered and we are ready to drum, and one by one each section shows the audience what Rhythm X is about: excellence. We have learned how to overcome adversity, and with that power we are unstoppable.

Part 5: You were only waiting for this moment to arise
The very end of the show with just guitar + vocals: This represents the light at the end of the tunnel of hard work, when you finally overcome your broken wing or whatever has set you back in life, and you're learned to thrive.

While this is based off of what the design team has told us, it is influenced by my interpretation of the show slightly, so keep it in mind. Hopefully this helps you understand the show a bit more. You can watch the full show from a regular audience perspective here:    • Rhythm X 2024 “Blackbird”@ WGI Finals...