After setting up a non-profit youth organization and getting a charter as Explorer Post 2009 from the Tuckabatchi Boy Scout Council, Southwind's initial organizational meeting was held on November 23, 1980 in downtown Montgomery.

Auditions were then held at Robert E Lee High School on December 13, 1980, and, on January 14, 1981, the corps had its first rehearsal.

In 1981, Southwind toured to contests in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and North Carolina before traveling to Philadelphia for the VFW National Drum and Bugle Contest (placing 5th of 8 corps) and then on the DCI World Championships in Montreal, where they finished 39th of 49 corps in Open Class Prelims.

In both 1991 and 1992, Southwind finished among the top 25 corps in DCI's Open Class/Division I quarterfinals, earning full membership in the organization.

For five seasons, the corps placed 17th through 24th at DCI Finals, but was finding it more and more difficult for the small group of local boosters to administer the unit.

In reorganizing its house after a disappointing season, the Madison Drum and Bugle Corps Association severed its ties with Southwind.

[citation needed] Back on its own, Southwind formed the Bluegrass Youth Performance Corporation as a sponsoring organization.