From the Motor City to the Circle City, Drum Corps International’s Summer Tour will break new ground in 2018 before returning to Indianapolis for World Championships.
Spanning 52 days from June to August, the 2018 DCI Tour will showcase more than 75 drum corps and SoundSport teams participating in 108 competitive events in 37 states. In addition to many of the familiar stops on the expansive tour across the U.S., there will be exciting new dates, locations, and venues.
New Tour Premiere Venue
The season-opening DCI Tour Premiere will find itself in a new home for 2018, bringing a lineup of six of last season’s top-12 corps to Detroit. The newly renovated Ford Field will be the site of the event on June 21, and will feature the debut performances of the Blue Stars, Bluecoats, Boston Crusaders, Carolina Crown, Cavaliers, and Phantom Regiment. The event is expected to broadcast live from Detroit to select movie theaters across the country.
On the other side of the country, DCI’s pacific region corps will begin competition the same weekend. Joining top-tier corps like the Blue Devils and Santa Clara Vanguard will be members of Allentown, Pennsylvania-based Cadets, who will spend the beginning of the season in California. DCI West on June 23 in Stanford is expected to be among the first events of 2018 to stream live on FloMarching.com.
More “New” for Premier Events
Anchoring the DCI Tour schedule in some of the biggest and most popular venues of the summer will be Drum Corps International’s Premier Event series. Several new events and venues will highlight this year’s lineup including familiar stops at locations like TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on July 7 and Camping World Stadium in Orlando on July 8.
Corps will arrive in St. Louis for a new event on July 15 – the DCI Midwestern Championship presented by DeMoulin Bros. and Co., which is expected to be at The Dome at America’s Center (formerly the Edward Jones Dome). A total of 20 World and Open Class corps will perform as part of the St. Louis lineup.
Beginning July 19, DCI’s annual Texas Tour will thrill even bigger audiences than in years past. The main event will be the DCI Southwestern Championship presented by Fred J. Miller Inc. at the Alamodome on July 21 featuring a lineup of all 24 of DCI’s World Class corps facing each other head-to-head the first time in 2018.
Vanderbilt University in Nashville will once again host the Masters of the Summer Music Games presented by Jupiter, Mapex & Majestic on July 27 before the tour returns to Atlanta on July 28 for the DCI Southeastern Championship presented by Lone Star Percussion in the brand new $1.6 billion, state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The last weekend of the regular season will showcase DCI’s entire complement of World Class corps at historic J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania, split over two days of competition on August 3 and August 4.
World Championship Events
For more than a decade, Open Class corps have kicked off DCI’s World Championship series of events in Michigan City, Indiana. They will do so once again with Prelims and Finals competitions scheduled for August 6 and August 7.
Downtown Indianapolis will see action beginning August 8 when the DCI Performers Showcase presented by System Blue will feature individuals and ensembles. Open and World Class corps will then square off in Lucas Oil Stadium for the Prelims competition on August 9 as DCI celebrates 10 years of hosting World Championship events in the spectacular venue.
The top 25 corps will advance to the Semifinals competition on August 10, and the top 12 will contend for the title of 2018 DCI World Champion on August 11.
Experience the 2018 DCI Tour
Tickets to more than 35 of the most popular events of the 2018 DCI Tour are already on sale through the DCI Box Office and Ticketmaster including single-day tickets to the 2018 DCI World Championships. Visit DCI.org to view the complete summer tour schedule and to order your tickets today.
Get ready…it’s coming!
Barbara Nash, APR is President of Barbara Nash & Associates LLC and supports Drum Corps International through fully integrated strategic communications and market engagement services. She has a broad background in music and performance, and has two sons who each marched with DCI.
