2023 River City Rhythm to explore the concept of "Falling"

The concept of falling is something few want to embrace and even fewer want to think about.

But, eventually, a person will fall. Whether that’s in love, out of favor with someone or even asleep, falling, whether figuratively or literally is a part of life.

For Matthew Ferry, program coordinator for Anoka, Minnesota’s River City Rhythm (RCR), the concept of falling has now crept into his dreams as the 2023 DCI Summer Tour approaches.

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“Three weeks ago, I, for the first time that I know about, was sleepwalking and I fell down my stairs,” Ferry said. “I keep telling the corps that I was doing research for the show in my sleep.”

While Ferry wasn’t inspired to create River City Rhythm’s 2023 production, “Falling,” from his experience falling down the stairs, the incident points to the many ways one can fall — and some future jokes between him and members of the corps down the line.

“There’s a better joke in there, but I haven’t figured it out yet,” Ferry said. “I keep telling everybody [that] I’m going to figure out the correct joke for that.”

In terms of the corps’ 2023 production, the staff at River City Rhythm were inspired by a podcast episode produced by Radiolab in which several stories about falling were told. The show will encapsulate what Ferry calls the “ups and downs of the falling concept."

As such, RCR designers don’t plan on laying out a fully-conceptualized story about someone’s journey of a fall and eventual rise on the field. Instead, the corps looks to latch onto the emotions that come with facing adversity.

“There are themes and moods in this show that we’re going to explore throughout each movement,” Ferry said. “We’re not necessarily telling a literal story. It’s more of a series of vignettes and moods.”

The repertoire for this season’s show includes an exploration of a few different genres. The musical design for the corps’ production came out of songs that corps staff members felt communicated the sense of falling.

“For us, it was [about] finding the variety and the contrast between those pieces,” Ferry said.

The first movement of the show includes a reimagined version of The Postal Service’s 2003 hit song, “Such Great Heights.” This version includes a fusion of a bluegrass and string quartet cover of the same track that’ll provide the foundation for the rest of the show.

As “Falling” reaches its second movement, drum corps fans will see River City Rhythm try to balance the act of holding the pieces together before the impending fall. They’ll explore the feeling of tension through innovative percussive techniques.

“What’s interesting about storylines is when you go through something and you’re stuck in something,” Ferry said. “So, in that second movement, there’s a lot of tension where we’re working that balancing act.”

The third movement features Pentatonix’s cover of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley where the show will move to conceptualizing the low points someone will experience after a fall.

Just as people will fall at some point in their life, they must also get up. That’s the mood River City Rhythm will try to convey with their final movement, which will utilize an arrangement of English rock band Muse’s “New Born.”

“The way that the corps is going to blow the house down with that final chorus, I’m really excited about how that’s going to feel after the journey we’ve been on,” Ferry said.

“The end is so raw, simple and beautiful,” Ferry added. “I’m excited for that landing point.”

To set the stage visually for the production, River City Rhythm plans to use various forms of “weight sharing” to represent the act of falling. The choreography in the show will also mimic the ups and downs of falling.

The plan is to incorporate several visual elements that coincide with each movement.

“There’s all kinds of things that we want to find a place for,” Ferry said.

 

Some of the visual elements will come from the ideas of the corps' members themselves, keeping in line with the theme of River City Rhythm pulling inspiration from a plethora of places.

“I love it when that [visual experimentation] happens,” Ferry said. “That is like the secret sauce magic that happens from time to time.”

As with all drum corps productions, River City Rhythm wants the impact of the show to last well beyond its final release. Ferry wants spectators to not only latch onto the show’s concept, but to also leave different DCI Tour shows with the buzz of the show’s repertoire in their head.

“I’m also excited about the idea of folks walking to their car with Elvis Presley in their head,” Ferry said. “That’s just another little treat.”

River City Rhythm will begin its 2023 summer tour on July 8 at the Whitewater Classic in Wisconsin.

View River City Rhythm's 2023 DCI Tour Schedule