Annual hometown concert kicks off Regiment’s forward-focused 2023 tour

The month leading up to the official start of the Drum Corps International Summer Tour can be a time period of monotonous routines. The early summer days are spent learning visuals, drilling basics and creating a cohesive story and soundscape on the field. The days can seem long, feeling like the season is further away than it actually is.

But, for Phantom Regiment drum major Keri McCourt, spring training was a different experience this year. It went by surprisingly fast, something she accredits to the energy and the drive of the corps.

“Everybody was just so eager to wake up the next day and get more drill on the field, to put music to the drill, to put [the] uniforms on for the first time,” McCourt said. “It was really exciting.”

Quicker than McCourt ever expected, the calendar flipped to June 22. Regiment was on the road again en route to the corps’ hometown of Rockford, Illinois for its annual Concert in the Park performance at Sinnissippi Park.

 

Serving as the symbolic end of spring training rehearsals for Phantom Regiment, the evening outdoor concert has become an annual tradition for the Illinois corps. It’s the public’s “first look” at the corps’ new uniforms and a “first-listen” to the corps’ brass and percussion sections.

While the standstill concert doesn’t feature the color guard section, the group of performers still has the opportunity to sit back and cheer on their fellow corps members from the audience.

“As the color guard calls it, it’s the ‘PRCG Coachella,’ because we just dress up, have fun, and we get to do many traditions,” Regiment color guard member Sophia Grasso said. “And then we get to sit in the front row and watch the corps play through the whole show, our corps song ‘Elsa’s (Procession to the Cathedral),’ and see other people perform. It’s just a very special night for us.”

Much of the concert performance in Rockford mirrors the message of Phantom Regiment’s 2023 production, “Exogenesis.” This is a version of the corps that is embracing modernity.

As the corps continues to honor its rich, storied history, it’s also striving to reshape their identity for future generations of drum corps fans with this year’s production.

 

It starts with the uniforms that corps members got to wear and perform in for the very first time in Rockford. McCourt says that as part of “Exogenesis,” the uniforms help to create a number of exciting visual moments throughout the show.

“They look great and move well,” McCourt said. “There’s some choreography that will really show off all parts of the uniform.”

Then, there’s the sound of the 2023 Phantom Regiment. Much of the show hints to classic Regiment traditions, but the brass and percussion looks to create a soundscape that sets the stage for Regiment’s appeal to future generations.

McCourt points to the opener, which features “Supremacy” by the English rock band Muse. She describes the opening section as an “in your face” movement that represents the corps’ evolved identity.

“It’s a little bit angsty, and it says, ‘You shouldn’t underestimate us,;” McCourt added.

The juxtaposition of past and present eras is often common practice in the drum corps activity. Participating corps are finding new ways to stretch their creativity, and Regiment is no exception.

“We’re going past old ways and traditions and moving into a new generation of Phantom Regiment,” Grasso said.

Embracing change can be a challenge, but the journey the corps is about to embark on is “the best path Phantom could be taking right now,” according to Grasso.

In 2022, Regiment journeyed back home with “No Walk Too Far.” Now, having catapulted its 2023 tour out of its hometown, the corps embarks on a new path — a path that honors the past, and looks ahead to what it can do in the future.

“You can just see it in our eyes how much we love the show, how much it means to us and how much we want the world to love it,” McCourt said.

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