The Bluecoats waited on the entrance ramps to the field of Canton, Ohio’s Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium to perform at the National Footbal League's pre-season game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Denver Broncos.
With a few minutes remaining in the first half, the Bluecoats logo flashed on the video boards and the announcer said, “Coming up at halftime, we have a very special treat. Canton’s very own Bluecoats will be performing an excerpt of their show from the Drum Corps International competitive tour. Stay in your seats!”
And they stayed.
Canton, Ohio serves as both the hometown of the Bluecoats and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The crowd of more than 20,000 football fans cheered from the moment the Bluecoats took the field. They could tell that this was not a traditional marching band, and that this would be no ordinary halftime show.
The Bluecoats did not disappoint. They were in exceptional form as they performed the final 5 1/2 minutes of their 2019 competitive production, “The BLUECOATS.” The audience responded immediately to the music of the Beatles and to the caliber of performance as the corps turned it on for the crowd surrounding them in all directions.
After more than 40 days performing exclusively for marching music fans across the country on the DCI Tour, one Bluecoats horn line member looked around just before staging the props on the field and said, “We’ve never played with people behind us before!”
As TV cameras captured their electrifying performance and aired a portion on the national broadcast, the Bluecoats wowed the audience and earned constant applause. After the final bow, they received a standing ovation and even louder cheers. Fans lined the exit ramps, giving corps members high fives and praise all the way out of the stadium.
“Being here to perform for the Hall of Fame game was such an incredible honor,” Bluecoats CEO Mike Scott said. “It’s absolutely thrilling to have the opportunity to share drum corps and the marching arts with an audience like this on a national stage.”
Bluecoats performed as part of the NFL's season-opening pre-season game on August 1 in Canton, Ohio.
Along with the halftime performance, the Bluecoats also partnered with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week to host nearly 100 high school musicians from across the country at the Bluecoats Band of Excellence for a two-day educational marching music clinic. The group also performed at a pre-game event on the steps of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Museum.
The partnership extends to the DCI Tour event in Akron on Monday night which is produced as part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week. It will be the last stop on the corps’ regular-season schedule featuring a lineup of nine groups just before they head to Indianapolis for the start of the DCI World Championships.
For the Bluecoats, the detour from their summer tour was a remarkable experience and a resounding success — not to mention the thousands of fans and millions of viewers who got a taste of drum corps at its finest.