Beat of Your Own Drum

In the early 1920s, in a small wheat town, a train ride outside of Kansas City, Missouri, comes the story of two young virtuosos, Danny and Rocky Doyle. Growing up in the Doyle home does not come easy. Thomas Doyle, the boys’ father, a violent racist, and loose cannon, lives his life by a small set of rules that ALL must follow. For most, this wouldn’t come as abnormal given the times, but there’s a catch, with Danny housing a secret that only he and his mother know about, and Rocky being on the Autism Spectrum, living life with Thomas is hardly manageable. Barbara, the boys’ mother, is most days, their only hope.
After we learn the struggles of both Rocky and Danny and their day-to-day, Danny’s secret is unveiled to us; Danny is secretly taking classes after his formal schooling, at a Jazz school nearby his home, where he is the only white student. This school, is where Danny calls home. Introducing Miss Marie and her husband John Ripley, Danny’s best friends, and fearsome mentors who protect him like their own and care for him just the same. The tiptoeing around, keeping Thomas off Danny’s trail ensues, Barbara at the Doyle home, and Marie at school, both devoted to Danny and his talents/passion.
One day, after the mistreatment of Rocky exceeds that of Barbara’s high tolerance, a move is made by Mom to send Rocky with Danny to Miss Marie’s school. This is where Rocky learns to play the drums…and we find out how brilliant our young lead is…this move made by Barbara catapults the boys’ future and changes their trajectory forevermore.
In this coming of age story, we witness the growth of all dedicated to Rocky and Danny. As the boys make their way from students to masters of black Jazz music, they find themselves older, playing in the midst of the Kansas City jazz scene. Rocky and Danny, growing musicians, are still but boys and press through the, at times, awful pains and trials of growing up. Life seems to knock the boys down at every turn as they rise to the top, the pressure doing it’s best to break the boys apart, but with the help of their mentors, friends along the way, and all those who love them, Rocky and Danny fight for their dreams, and for one another all while giving us the performance of a lifetime.