For Lauren Dove, Longhorn Band runs in the family. 

Her grandparents, aunts and uncles all participated in the band. This year, Lauren, an urban studies senior, upheld the tradition, but she didn’t do it alone — She played in Longhorn Band alongside her dad, Kerry Dove.

Kerry, a music senior, came to UT to finish a degree he started three decades ago.

After graduating high school and first attending UT in 1986, Kerry said he switched majors several times before deciding on music. However, he left college without graduating to start a career.

Kerry worked as a financial advisor for the last 20 years and said he wanted to get his financial planning certificate, which requires an undergraduate degree. When Lauren and her sister, Lindsay, began at UT in 2019 and 2020, Kerry decided to go back to college alongside them to finish off his music degree.

Kerry played in Longhorn Band his first time at UT, participating in the alumni band established by his parents in 1964. Aside from two football seasons when his daughters were born, Kerry played in the alumni band every year since he first left UT.

“I’ve got a lot of musical experience through the years playing in community bands and keeping up with Longhorn alumni bands,” Kerry said. “My parents started Longhorn Alumni Band, (and) my dad was the first president of our alumni band. I’ve always done that every year, I hardly ever miss it.”

While Lauren participated in band in high school, she said she needed a break when she first came to college. However,  Lauren said she promised her family she would join Longhorn Band at some point.

“This year, I realized this is my last shot,” Lauren said. “With the whole family legacy, … I would have been the first Dove not to be in Longhorn Band.”

They joined the band together in the fall. Although they play different instruments — with Lauren playing alto saxophone and Kerry the trumpet — Lauren said she and her dad still spend a lot of time together.

“Everyone noticed we were pretty inseparable,” Lauren said. “We showed up to rehearsal together, left rehearsal together, we’d get meals before and after.”

Lindsay, a vocal performance junior, said she witnessed Longhorn Band bring her sister and dad closer.

“It’s comforting for my dad to have someone he can turn to that’s not completely foreign,” Lindsay said. “Of course he has his own friends … but it’s different because of the age gap.”

Before joining Longhorn Band, Kerry said he felt worried he would be an outsider because of his age, but he said he felt welcomed by the other students.

“I felt like a band member, and everybody treats me as their equal,” Kerry said. “But they also acknowledge the fact that I do have a lot of experience, and they value my ideas, and they just want to get to know me.”

With her dad as one of the oldest members in Longhorn Band, Lauren said he put her concerns of joining the band as a senior — also older than most new members — at ease.  

“We just had the best time,” Lauren said. “We’re like, should we do it next fall?”