The 2017 season is approaching, and this year promises to be bigger and better than ever – all while having a summer-long celebration!
Drum Corps International will celebrate its 45th anniversary throughout the summer as the world’s most elite marching music ensembles entertain thousands in football stadiums across the United States.
Spanning 52 days from June into August, the 2017 Drum Corps International Tour will feature more than 55 corps competing across 110 competitive events in 37 states. The Summer Journey has become tradition in recent years, the road to World Class Championships will begin and end in Indianapolis, starting with Opening Night on Thursday, June 22. The DCI Tour Premiere will return to Lucas Oil Stadium with a powerhouse lineup of World Class corps, including the 2016 DCI World Champion Bluecoats. Fans across the country will once again be able to share in the season- opening performances through live broadcast at select movie theaters nationwide.
Once the competition stage is set, West Coast corps will present their first competitive performances of the season in Clovis, California, on June 23. California’s tour stops will include shows at Stanford Stadium and at the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium. DCI will return to the Sunshine State with events in Orlando and southern Florida early in July. Orlando’s competition will feature corps at the Camping World Stadium, which has undergone a name change and dramatic renovations since the venue last hosted the DCI World Championships in 2003. At the same time, West Coast corps will see some of their first Midwest action when the tour returns to the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday, July 8.
Then it’s on to the Lone Star State for the “Texas Swing” where fans will see events in several cities leading up to the Southwestern Championship at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday, July 22. Marching out of Texas, corps will see action in Arkansas and Mississippi and at a new event in Alabama. The annual Masters of the Summer Music Games will showcase a spectacular group of corps in Nashville at Vanderbilt University on Friday, July 28. With the recent closing of the Georgia Dome to make way for the new Mercedes Benz Stadium, things will be a little different for the final weekend of July splitting corps between a competition in the Atlanta area at McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia, on July 29 and an enhanced Tour of Champions on July 30 in Winston- Salem, North Carolina.
As is DCI’s tradition, the last weekend of the regular season will showcase all of World Class corps at the venerable J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania, split over two days of competition on Friday and Saturday, August 4-5.
Open class corps will celebrate the 10th year of kicking off World Championships Week events in Michigan City, Indiana, as they march into Ames Field for prelims and finals competitions August 7-8. The focus then moves to Indianapolis for the rest of a jam-packed week with activities including the DCI Performers Showcase presented by System Blue, the wildly popular SoundSport and Drumline Battle competitions, and the 2nd Annual SoundSport International Music and Food Festival in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday, August 12.
Of course, the anchor events of the week in Indy will be prelims, semi-finals, and world class championship finals – the ninth straight year corps have performed at Lucas Oil Stadium, more than any other venue. Once again, semi-finals will broadcast live to movie theaters nationwide on Friday night as the corps battle it out for a spot in the Top 12 for World Championship Finals on Saturday.
Look for special touches throughout the season to commemorate the 45 years of marching music excellence of DCI. More to come! Learn more about Summer Tour 2017 at dci.org/schedule.
