Will

My first live drum corps show was 1999 Drums on the Ohio, Evansville, Indiana. I was a junior in high school and we left band camp early to drive up from Kentucky to watch the show. Cadets, Glassmen, Carolina Crown, Southwind, Mandarins, Les Etoiles, Kiwanis Kavaliers. I vividly remember Les Etoiles climbing all over scaffolding props during their Ice Storm show and I was obsessed! Kiwanis and their jazzy music was fun; great guard. The small but mighty Mandarins let me know that quality over quantity rules the day (at least for me). The color guards in all the groups blew me away but Glassmen in particular were just incredible! And then the Jekyl & Hyde show from Crown and that gorgeous ballad 😍 Cadets music was phenomenal; show itself is somewhat forgettable BUT they were firing on all cylinders, which led into their 2000 show. Being a Kentucky native, Southwind was fabulous and that’s still one of my favorite shows.

Buccaneers were great!! I think I liked Caballeros show better, but the raw power in the brass at Buccaneers was impressive!

Caballeros are taking it to another level!! Wow!!!! Great show!!!! 😍🤩😍

Loving the Bushwackers!! Great energy and smart design choices.

Atlanta CV 😍

I literally just said that to my tv! Ugh 😑 Flo is too expensive for this to be happening so frequently.

Despite the heat and humidity, the show was fantastic!! I had seats on the side two 45 yard line, ten rows up. Gold - the Sweeney Todd show is so fun! The pacing feels a bit slow through the middle, but the performers have great energy and stamina throughout. Love the costuming and the silks (the opener and closer flags have a “bloody” metallic that looks fantastic under the lights!). The guard performs well; they’ve got some cleaning to do (as does everyone). Pacific Crest - yikes! I hate the snakes but they use them to great effect. The brass didn’t seem to have the lower end punch that Gold did BUT they have some quality arrangements and play them well. The guard is chock full of talent and they are having a blast performing throughout. I see them hanging in to the top 15 at championships. Phantom Regiment - I’ve been on the fence with this show all season until now. WOW!!! 🤩 they had me captivated throughout and the guard is stunning (their best in years!). The cylinders still don’t make sense to me but it’s negligible and doesn’t take away from the show. The brass is so powerful and they invested some time in highlighting the percussion which I love. Overall? I think they’ll push to crack the top 4. Vanguard - much better to watch in person than online. I love the neon against the white. The silks are all gorgeous 😍. I’m not a personal fan of the harsh sounding music but it goes with the theme and they play it insanely well. Guard had some dirt throughout and seemed tired. I won’t be surprised if they end up in the top 3 or 4. Boston - good heavens this is incredible! Easily the best show I’ve seen this year. The flag rotations alone are mind boggling and the brass sounds amazing.🤩. My money is on them to win come finals.

FYI - start time pushed back due to heat advisory. UPDATED Event Time Line and Spectator Information Gates Open for Public – 6:00 PM Event Start Time – 8:00 PM

It’s being renovated, so using another local school (Central HS hosts the ISSMA regionals each fall and handles the 20 (ish) groups easily…much easier than the Reitz Bowl. It would be ideal if they utilize this (Central) or North HS stadiums going forward as both are much better for access and handling large volumes of both participants and parking spectators. Very much looking forward to this show tonight! All 5 groups promise to bring wonderful talent and creativity!

LOVE the Colts! It’s giving me Charisma Uniqueness Nerve and Talent 😉 Kind of obsessed with the giant flags (that we get two sets of!) and the overall commitment to theme is fantastic. It does have some dirt but I can see this easily making the top 12. Great job!

Nice job Genesis!!! Great use of color throughout. Musicals selections and arrangements are great and they are cleaning up nicely.

1993, 1990, 1987. Honorable mention to 2000. Best show that didn’t win: 1995 (with honorable mention to 1996, 1989, and 1988). Not entirely related- I forget about how much fun watching 2004 is; the drill was exciting and the guard was stellar (the flag toss towards the end is stunning!).

Yep! They ran that ad during WGI too. It’s kinda fun 🤩

No these solid silks are not the final ones; production takes time. They’ll get the show silks soon enough.

I was just thinking that! Definitely the best show they’ve had in years. Really loving it! The solid flags are kinda funny but I’m sure they’ll get the show ones soon enough. Costuming is a 10/10!