For Blue Stars, in many ways, 2025 is business as usual — in a good way.
The La Crosse, Wisconsin corps has maintained competitive and organizational momentum over the past several years, landing among DCI’s top-eight finishers in four of the last five seasons.
Over that time, consistency has been key.
“We feel like we just picked up right where we left off at the end of the 2024 season,” brass caption head Travis Larson said. “We felt really, really great about where the horn line was at the end of the season, and we’ve just kind of parlayed that into 2025.”
While consistency may be at the forefront for Blue Stars, though, Larson shared an intriguing message for drum corps fans, as the corps kicked off its ramp-up into the 2025 DCI Summer Tour at an April 25-27 full-corps rehearsal camp in Indianapolis, Indiana.
“Expect the unexpected,” Larson said. “We try to be unique, and we try to have our little niche kind of brand of drum corps that we love and that we believe in, and we think this is going to fit right in with that.”
“You’ll know it’s the Blue Stars,” he added. “But it’s going to be fresh, interesting, and really exciting.”
When it comes to the importance of consistency, corps member retention certainly plays an important role. According to veteran drum major Mattie Kleespies, there’s been an array of returning faces this season, and an attitude of familial “gratitude” surrounding the corps, from her perspective.
As the corps’ April rehearsal camp marked the first meeting of its full complement of brass, percussion and color guard performers, the opportunity to see so many familiar friends was all the more apparent.
“There’s tons of thankfulness and coming together — many hugs and laughs being shared across the drum corps,” she said. “That’s something I’ve always loved about the Blue Stars, the sense of community and the friendliness among the people.”
Larson spoke highly, as well, of Blue Stars’ ability to bring back a strong group of experienced corps members.
“The progress has been — as usual — very strong,” Larson said. I’m always surprised and amazed by what our members can do, and it’s been staggering, the level of improvement that we’ve heard since the beginning of the season. We just hope to keep it moving forward.”
With such quality performers on the field, Larson and Kleespies alike said that Blue Stars’ program will be particularly challenging this summer. The implementation of an offseason fitness regimen has been key in preparing for a daunting production.
“The show is going to be extremely physical,” Larson said. “We’re really going to push the limits of our performers.”
“We know that it’s going to be a very challenging and athletic program for us,” Kleespies added. “So, we’ve been walking through this entire preseason with that in mind. We want to make sure that we’re 100 percent ready to go by day one.”
Blue Stars’ 2025 schedule, which features more than 20 tour stops, kicks off July 2 in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.