How Layla Clark Turned AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ Into a Marching Band Showstopper
The first few seconds of Layla Clark’s “Thunderstruck” are familiar even if the instrument takes a moment to register. The repeating figure Angus Young played on electric guitar comes from a row of bars, with the Thomas Jefferson High School percussionist picking out the notes with two mallets.
The camera stays close enough to follow Clark’s hands as she works through the intro. Every strike has a distinct attack. Once the marching band joins in, that exposed opening gives way to an arrangement built for a football field.
The performance was recorded at a halftime show during the 2025 season in western Pennsylvania. Clark was a senior when the clip took off online the following fall, giving the Jaguars’ halftime arrangement an audience far beyond the stadium.
On Oct. 31, the West Jefferson Hills School District celebrated the spread of the footage on X, citing 3.1 million views and crediting Clark and the marching band. The district’s X upload itself drew roughly 1.8 million views in a later snapshot.
A separate X upload from Ronnie Evans had reached 5.3 million views by Nov. 3, according to USA TODAY Network reporting. The totals describe separate posts and reporting snapshots.
Composer John Mackey was among the musicians who praised Clark. The performance footage gives listeners something specific to follow: the precision of the opening and the moment the band expands it into a full arrangement.
The sharper attack of the mallets changes the character of the riff. The pattern stays immediately recognizable, and the close-up makes the steady motion behind it unusually easy to see. In the official AC/DC video, the same notes have the bite and sustain of an electric guitar.
Another instrumental take comes from 2CELLOS, who build their arrangement around the same opening figure.
