N.C. A&T Young Alumnus Performed with Beyoncé at Coachella

If someone told Keir Garner ’17 four months ago that he would be performing at one of the largest music festivals with one of the top artists in the world, he probably would not have believed you. However on April 14, he stood on stage at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival behind Beyoncé and did just that.

“My experience performing behind a legendary artist like Beyoncé showed me that everything I have worked so hard for as a child was preparation for this moment,” said Garner.

Garner is no stranger to performing for large crowds. The former member of the Cold Steel Drumline of the Blue and Gold Marching (BGMM) spent a lot of his time traveling and performing with the band, most recently at the 2017 Celebration Bowl. After graduating in December with a degree in general music, he was looking for new opportunities to advance his career. He had a desire to move to Atlanta to work in entertainment but his plans weren’t lining up for him. In February, he received a phone call from Drumline Live, an international tour company based on HBCU bands, which would change his life forever.

“One of my friends, Brian Baity, shared one of my Instagram clips with Drumline Live and the company reached out to me and asked could I drop everything, and move to Hollywood within two days to prepare for a performance at Coachella,” said Garner. “The company didn’t tell me or the other drummers at first who the artist was but I just knew I had to walk by faith in order to obtain this amazing opportunity.”

Garner joined Drumline Live in California and used the work ethic that he had learned from his time in the BGMM to keep him focused on learning the music and giving a 100 percent effort.

“It took a week of practice for all of the drummers and dancers to realize the artist we were going to be performing with was Beyoncé,” said Garner. “I’m not normally star-struck but I knew one thing, I was living a musician’s dream.”

Garner learned from this experience that there is no downtime in show business and that it is important for him to work hard every time it was his opportunity to perform.

“Beyoncé is a very kind-hearted woman but she was about her business,” said Garner. “She has a work-ethic anyone can aspire to have in any area of their life.”

When Garner and the performers were preparing for the first show, the attire was to wear gold shirts. Being that he had graduated from North Carolina A&T and had been with the band for five years, he had a plethora of gold shirts and hoodies.

“I chose to wear my ‘Loyalty’ hoodie to represent where I came from and the team was okay with my choice,” said Garner. “Anytime I have an opportunity to show my love for Aggie Pride, I am more than willing to pay homage to A&T.”

The journey to Coachella was not an easy process and it took a lot of sacrifices for Garner but through it all he credits his mother for keeping him grounded and his faith that fuels his drive.

“For any student or alumni, looking to pursue their dreams, my advice is to just do it, trust yourself and put faith first,” said Garner.

In the future, Garner plans to continue living in Hollywood to keep pursuing his dream of working with major artists and to obtain his real estate license. He also plans to create a training company for musicians who aspire to work in the entertainment industry.