On an average day, Crest Hill’s Adam Hill can be seen in the halls of Romeoville High School, where he was a student himself and for the past 18 years has taught percussion, music production and served as a director with the marching band.

“This place is very special to me,” Hill said. “I see myself as one of these kids because I walked the same halls.”

However, Hill recently took off several days from school and competed on national television as part of the Pack Drumline on “America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League,” competing for $250,000.

Of the 40 groups competing, the Pack Drumline was the only group voted in by fans and one of 10 groups that moved on from the preliminary and semifinal rounds, earning it an opportunity to perform in the finals that aired Feb. 12.

Hill, who watched the most recent taped episode from the comfort of his home with his family, said, “Even though I know what happened, I thought, ‘This is intense.’”

The Pack Drumline first appeared on season 17 of “America’s Got Talent” but was eliminated in the semifinals. The group was brought back for the “Fantasy League” edition of the show because of fan votes.

“Watching the performance back and seeing how much it has been shared all over has been truly amazing,” Hill said. “I have had so much support from friends, family and even people I don’t know.”

Hill was involved in preparing for the preliminary performance, but because of a change in the “America’s Got Talent” schedule, he couldn’t join the group onstage until the final round due to another performance conflict.

In fact, Hill was in Copenhagen performing in the 2023 Fortnite Global Championship Halftime Show.

“[It] was heartbreaking to me,” Hill said. “I already learned the show.”

He said making it to Los Angeles to compete in the finals was an “honor,” especially competing on Simon Cowell’s 10-act team as part of the new format of the “Fantasy League” edition.

Hill said Cowell was “warm, genuine and welcoming.”

However, Hill admitted that the road to the final performance wasn’t without its hiccups.

Rehearsing for the final round onstage, the group decided to rewrite some of the performance the day before the taping.

“We walked down Hollywood Boulevard, talking and designing,” Hill said. “The best thing about working on this show [was] if I came up with an idea that was crazy, they were like, ‘Cool, tell me more.’ I appreciated the challenge and the trust.”

In the final performance, the group performed “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light ‘Em Up)” by Fall Out Boy.

The high-energy performance culminated with lighting the cymbals on a drum set on fire.

Hill, who has extensive experience competing in marching band, said he found this type of pure entertainment performance “to be refreshing.”

Hill’s percussion path

Hill, who began in drumline when he was 14, went on to earn a degree in music education from VanderCook College of Music with an emphasis in percussion.

In addition, Hill spent 10 seasons as a member of the Chicago Bears drumline and was a member of the Chicago Bulls Stampede Drumline for 15 years, serving as its director.

He also has performed at Lollapalooza five times with different artists, “presenting the drumline accompaniment moments.”

Additionally, Hill performs as part of the Rhythm Messengers group and as a solo act, ADH experience.

In forming a nonprofit, Pi Percussion, about 17 years ago, Hill said it gives high school- and college-age students from the suburban area the opportunity to train and compete as part of a percussion ensemble.

Hill joined the Pack Drumline in 2023 after he was approached by its founder, Perry Donta’e, to help write music and design the performance pieces for the group.

About 10 years ago, the Pack Drumline started out as a Chicago-area after-school program teaching percussion and dance to at-risk youth.

Today, it is considered a dynamic performance group that performs across the U.S. and Canada.

The finale performance aired Monday, at which time the winner was expected to be announced after a vote from the in-house audience.

The Pack Drumline’s last performance on “America’s Got Talent” will feature a special guest and new material, Hill said.

With only a couple of days left before the finale performance aired, Hill said he was busy putting off the many questions of “what happened” on the show.

He said he tells people “I don’t want to take that away from you.”

“I remember being onstage and feeling a certain way,” Hill said. “It is going to be amazing.”