Back in 2011, five Florida students wearing kilts had so much fun at their high school talent show that they were instantly well-known online with their amazing drum performance, which has had an astounding 29 million views and counting!
The Origin of an Internet Legend
Lake Howell High School student Dylan Charles came up with the idea to revive the renowned but short-lived drum line from the 1990s known as the “Hot Scots.” Together with his similarly talented friends Nigel Fernandez, Matt, Elias, and Jordan, he transformed that idea into an amazing, stick-flipping, beat-blasting act that would go on to become an internet classic. “We just played some of our favorite drum corps excerpts and filled in the rest,” Dylan said respectfully to Drumlines of America (DOA).
He did not say what?
These men did more than just play; they performed.
The Show With Everything!
The Hot Scots put on a performance that will never be forgotten while wearing traditional kilts. It included surprise comedic bits, lightning-fast drumming, and synchronized choreography. One of the drummers grabbed his sticks and started playing Rick Astley’s “Never Going to Give You Up” like a microphone when the music stopped.
The audience was thrown the ultimate musical curveball as the entire band joined in, only to quickly return to their lively beats. And just when the crowd thought they had seen it all? The men turned around, raised their kilts, and mooned the applauding crowd, revealing their identical shorts, of course!
With 29 million views, it is still growing!
A talent show success was just the beginning. Fernandez uploaded the now-iconic act to YouTube on March 11, 2011, and it quickly became a viral sensation online. Additionally, almost a decade later, the video continues to show up in feeds as new generations discover and value the Hot Scots’ amazing drumming abilities.
One reviewer exclaimed, “Even in 2022, this is so passionate, real, alive, and fresh.” “People do not realize how incredibly difficult this is,” another person wrote. Most professional musicians could not perform the same level of skill as these people. With their perfect timing and incredible zeal, the Hot Scots proved that sometimes a high school talent event can create true legends.
Have you been to see this amazing show? Think about it and let us know what you think, and let us know if the Hot Scots just put on the best drumline show ever.
