In the late 1980s and ‘90s, Seattle became the epicenter of a counter-cultural revolution, one fueled by unflinching angst and raw, unvarnished emotion. Decades later, as they celebrate their 60th anniversary, the Seattle Cascades are putting a twist on that iconic grunge movement with their 2026 production, “Against the Grain.”
“We said, ‘What could we do to celebrate our 60th, and what could we do to bring Seattle to life and celebrate our roots?’” Seattle Cascades executive director Michael Leone said. “We decided, why not grunge? I mean, everyone knows Seattle for grunge.”
Leone knew that taking on this iconic cultural identity required more than just packing the musical repertoire with greatest hits. It also meant honoring the fashion of the era, too.
“We took the flannel and brightened it up… we decided, let’s twist it all up,” Leone said. “We took that ‘against the grain’ philosophy with our grunge and our 60th in Seattle, paid homage to the city, and then just blew it all up.”
The corps achieved this by outfitting performers in vibrant orange and purple plaid tops, accented with yellow around the arms, and jackets tied around the waist. The color guard costuming works pink into the mix, while performers across the field sport smoky black eyeliner to capture the raw edge at the music’s core.
For drum major and third-year member Madison Landis, a Californian who makes the trip north to compete with the corps, the grunge concept took a little getting used to, but she has since embraced the chaos.
“A lot of people within the Cascades had to get used to the theme at first,” Landis said. “But we have great staff and designers who have been developing it as we go. We’ve been doing a lot of score study, you could say, with Nirvana — really trying to understand those themes.”
Leone noted that for other members, the music hit much closer to home.
“Half our corps is from the Northwest, so they grew up with it and their parents grew up with it,” Leone said. “They fell in love with it right away. They heard it, saw it, and said, ‘We know this from our parents’ childhoods.’”
The production’s repertoire reflects that nostalgia by leaning into iconic anthems rather than deep cuts, diving headfirst into the discography of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Nirvana. The show kicks off with echoes of late frontman Kurt Cobain as the corps launches into the band’s 1993 hit, “Heart-Shaped Box.”
The intensity ratchets up another notch as the show flows into Alice In Chains’ monster hit, “Man in the Box,” off their 1990 debut album “Facelift.” The track — which currently stands at more than 675 million streams on Spotify — is brought to the drum corps stage in a way that defies expectations.
“I knew that we were going to have a feature for one of our veteran players who happens to be a bass clarinetist, and our designers took that idea and ran,” Landis said. “They developed a solo between a bass clarinet and violin, and lately, we’ve been working to incorporate the soloists even more into the show.”
The violin and bass clarinet mimic the wails and cries of late lead vocalist Layne Staley over the song’s main guitar riff, but that raw aggression takes on a completely new life on the field.
“We didn’t want to just do a traditional guitar sound,” Leone explained. “That’s where the idea came from, bringing out string and woodwind textures to go against the grain of a typical grunge show.”
The production then circles back to Nirvana, giving “Smells Like Teen Spirit” its main showcase after teasing subtle motifs of the anthem earlier in the performance. From there, the show pivots away from alt rock radio staples.
The corps moves into original compositions by percussion arranger Eric Yahrmarkt, brass arranger and composer Jeff Chambers, and sound designer Tim Mitchell, seamlessly weaving in elements of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.”
However, Nirvana and Alice In Chains return with a vengeance for the show’s explosive finale. The emotional release from the corps stays true to the grunge attitude, with vocal motifs reminiscient of Cobain ringing over the sound system while members wreak havoc on the set.
“Think about a Pearl Jam or Nirvana concert,” Leone said. “Go down to that mosh pit at the end. It’s insane, right? It’s all about screaming, raucous energy, throwing chairs, and tearing things up. The whole idea was to capture what happens at the end of a rock show and emulate that on the field.”
And according to Leone, the corps is saving its biggest tricks for the end of the season.
“There are a lot more surprises coming that audiences haven’t seen yet,” he said.
