12 things you might not know about 2023’s "Top 12"

Any drum corps production is chock-full of small details that can often go unnoticed, or unknown, throughout the course of the DCI Summer Tour. Check out these 12 things you might not know about 2023's DCI World Championship finalists.

Download audio performance recordings from the 2023 DCI World Championships on marchingmusicdownloads.com, Amazon Music (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4), or Apple Music (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4).

1. Blue Devils | “The Cut Outs”

2023 Blue Devils

The now three-time defending champion Blue Devils presented a program based around the late-life work of Henri Matisse; his “cut outs” period emphasized the use of paper and scissors.

“He was actually suffering from a debilitating disease,” Blue Devils music director Dave Glyde said. “But he managed to work through it and create an entirely new art form.”

Glyde described the use of musical and visual “cut outs” used throughout the production. A key visual focal point at the very end of the show, Blue Devils used various risers and tarps to three-dimensionally recreate and perform atop Matisse’s well-known 1953 work, “The Snail.”

2. Bluecoats | “The Garden of Love”

As part of the Canton, Ohio corps’ production, an arrangement of Bon Iver’s “___45___” opened with an array of soothing solos and solis. As music coordinator Matt Jordan pointed out, the first section of this movement is performed without a set tempo.

During this section, the corps’ drum majors could be seen seated calmly on their podiums, taking in the soft music of the soloists before cueing the full ensemble’s re-entry. Jordan noted that, while the conductors remained seated, the corps’ choreography was set to the structure of the music, not to a consistent set of rhythmic “counts.”

“We really wanted the majority of that movement to be unconducted,” Jordan said. “Night to night, it's not exactly the same.”

3. Carolina Crown | “The Round Table: Echoes of Camelot”

Carolina Crown | Allentown, PA | #DCI2023
Oh there it is! 👑 📲 Rebroadcasts and select #DCI2023 archives available on @FloMarching ➡ dci.fan/WatchLive23 #DCI2023 | Carolina Crown
Posted by Drum Corps International on Saturday, August 5, 2023

What comes first, the chicken or the egg?

For Carolina Crown, it was the crown. More specifically, the “Crown set,” an iconic drill formation featured in most Carolina Crown productions, in which the corps often completes its program in the shape of its emblem on the field.

According to program coordinator Rick Subel, that drill formation got the ball rolling on ideation for the corps’ 2023 production, which focused on the Medieval legend of King Arthur.

“How can we build something around that?” He said. “It all fell into place.”

Throughout the 2023 DCI Tour, discussion of the Crown set became a “will they, won’t they” waiting game, until its first appearance on the field at the DCI Eastern Classic in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

4. Boston Crusaders | “White Whale”

2023 Boston Crusaders | "White Whale" | Semifinals
Harpoon'd 🐋 Rebroadcasts and select archives available on FloMarching » dci.fan/WatchLive23 #DCI2023 | Boston Crusaders
Posted by Drum Corps International on Friday, August 11, 2023

As the corps’ “Moby Dick”-themed production developed, it featured a late-season addition — that of a “harpooning,” as a color guard protagonist captured and slayed the corps’ “white whale” character.

However, at the DCI World Championship Finals, the corps’ story returned to the classic novel’s true form, as the performer portraying the antagonist evaded the aforementioned harpoon attack, and turned the weapon back against their enemy, earning decisive victory.

“The book is based on this chase for the unattainable,” Boston Crusaders artistic director Keith Potter said. “It translated well to drum corps because every day, everybody gets up, they’re trying to chase perfection… it’s the chase for the unattainable.”

5. The Cadets | “Atlas Rising”

The Cadets’ production was meant to be “sporty.” Using inspiration from Atlas — the Greek Titan who is depicted holding the Earth on his shoulders — the corps’ 2023 show was about the journey to success of a great athlete.

“Atlas Rising” evolved quite a bit throughout the summer, and featured plenty of development of the show’s main character, portrayed by color guard member Aiden Cornelius.

By the end of the season, the corps’ extended closer featured Cornelius being lifted off the ground by fellow color guard performers, a sign of his character’s reliance on those around him to achieve new heights.

6. Mandarins | “Sinnerman”

In recent seasons, Mandarins have become synonymous with large, highly-mobile stage sets. The corps’ 2018 show centered around a rotating stage, the radius of which spanned more than 10 yards. 2022’s production saw Mandarins climbing, running around and running through a jagged, tall, light blue structure, which also rotated at moments throughout the show.

For 2023, the corps once again went spinning — but vertically.

In the final moments of “Sinnerman,” Mandarins used the corps’ large red platforms as spinning cages, each rotating rapidly with a performer trapped inside. When all was said and done, each member experienced at least 20 revolutions inside the spinning mechanism.

“At first, you get a little dizzy,” Mandarins performer Cooper Phillips said following the corps’ DCI World Championship Semifinals performance. “But now, the only dizzy I really get is the high from the stadium, all the energy that we feed the crowd and they feed back.”

7. Phantom Regiment | “Exogenesis”

When Phantom Regiment included English rock band Muse’s “The 2nd Law, Isolated System” and “Supremacy” in its 2023 production, it became the first World Class finalist to utilize the music of the popular English rock band.

Prior to 2023, Muse songs had been included by Southwind, Oregon Crusaders and more, but this past DCI Tour marked the first time that selections from its catalog were performed at the DCI World Championship Finals.

The use of Muse’s music marked a key move for Regiment; as program supervisor Tony Hall noted, 2023 was intended to be a step in a new direction for the Rockford, Illinois corps, and the use of popular, modern music played a major role in executing those plans.

“‘Exogenesis’ is a hypothesis that life began somewhere else in the universe,” he said. “For me, it’s the beginning of planting a seed for the Phantom Regiment’s future, and where we can take it.”

8. The Cavaliers | “Where You’ll Find Me”

The Cavaliers | Casey Claw | 1995 & 2023
The "Casey Claw" 28 years apart!! The Cavaliers | Yamaha Music USA
Posted by Drum Corps International on Thursday, February 15, 2024

The Rosemont, Illinois corps’ production provided a nod to its 75-year history, and featured a tapestry of musical and visual references to various iconic moments.

Many of those allusions, though, were simply whispers, or brief mentions. The corps’ goal was not to fully recreate moments from its past, but to fuse them into one long “memoir,” as program coordinator David Starnes put it. “We didn’t want it to be a best-of show,” he said.

One of many references to the corps’ past was presented by its percussion section — which took home the Fred Sanford Award for Best Percussion Performance. Midway through “Where You’ll Find Me,” The Cavaliers’ snare drummers deployed the “Casey Claw,” a rudimental snare drum technique that first appeared in the Green Machine’s 1994 production and again in 1995.

9. Colts | “Where the Heart Is”

Through Colts’ 2023 production — an homage to the corps’ 60th anniversary — it made references to various geographic locations, whether through voiceovers, or through references presented on stage sets. Throughout the production, Colts members held up signs featuring the names of different cities, many of which were locations of the corps’ 2023 DCI Tour appearances.

At the opening impact of Colts’ program, a crowd of voices is heard stating “2300 Twin Valley Drive, Dubuque, Iowa,” which is the site of Colts headquarters.

“The number of people that have been reaching out to our corps, both alumni and other fans, talking about moments in the show that resonate with their drum corps experience,” drum major Carissa Blumke said. “It really just enhances the entire connection that we have to the show as well.”

10. Troopers | “To Lasso the Sun”

Like many productions, Troopers’ went through several evolutions as the 2023 DCI Tour progressed.

In its final form, “To Lasso the Sun” featured a return of the corps’ classic drum major uniform; the main “Trooper” character was seen pursuing, and ultimately reeling in, Troopers’ massive sun prop in the show’s closing moments.

At a previous point in the season, the ending’s feature role had featured a cowboy fully dressed in white, but Troopers’ design team ultimately felt the classic “Trooper” was the right move.

"For a minute, we had a white Trooper uniform, which was actually a copy of the 1967 Trooper costume," program coordinator Tim Snyder said. "But it didn't come across the way I think we thought it might."

While unknown at the time, Troopers designers have noted that 2023’s ending set the table for the corps’ 2024 production, “Dance with the Devil.”

11. Blue Stars | “In ABSINTHEia”

Program coordinator Michael Shapiro described Blue Stars’ 2023 production as a “fantasy about a group of people who are trying to find inspiration,” with their route to inspiration being the green “potion,” as he put it.

On this journey, the corps featured prop pieces that represented key ingredients in the consumption of absinthe — straws, spoons, and sugar cubes.

“Put a sugar cube on top of a spoon, drip water through a straw,” Shapiro said. “That’s how the liquid gets made and is consumed.”

12. Blue Knights | “Unharnessed”

Blue Knights’ 2023 production centered around the idea of an individual being freed from what binds them, whether that be emotionally, socially, or physically.

This concept was depicted visually in many different ways throughout the production, one being the use of rope. During various parts of the show color guard members could be seen bound or manipulating equipment with ropes.

Furthering the theme, performers were encouraged to personalize the show to their own experiences and memories, drawing connections to the things in life that can make them feel trapped or bound.

“We’ve allowed the performers to decide in their mind and their heart, what is harnessing them? What is holding them back?” color guard coordinator James Gabonay said. “The show is truly different for each member of this corps.”