In many parts of the country, the first major drum corps audition weekend of the season will take place over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which means that corps will be rolling into the start to their 2007 competitive seasons. Coinciding with the beginning of the "new year," Drum Corps International is pleased to announce its schedule of Major Events as a part of the Summer Music Games Tour.
Drum corps will return to Indianapolis' RCA Dome in 2007
for the eighth year in a row.

What makes an event a "Major Event?" Drum Corps International Major Events are a collection of some of the premier tour stops on the Summer Music Games Tour. They generally take place in larger, collegiate and professional stadium facilities on key weekends, in front of some of the biggest crowds of the season. Last year's major event in Atlanta brought more than 15,800 drum corps fans to the South in only its first year in that city, establishing a modern-day record for a Major Event. Major Events are produced exclusively by Drum Corps International, and are a part of the larger schedule of more than 140 events that are sanctioned by DCI and contracted out through its Tour Event Partner network. The local tour event partners in each host city handle the logistics and production of their respective events, providing judged performance opportunities which become integral parts of a corps' season, as they look to improve on past performances and prepare to compete at the Drum Corps International World Championships. Attendance for all Drum Corps International events in 2006 reached more than 360,000 individuals, and 2007 is shaping up to be another banner year.
The popular DCI Southeastern Championship in Atlanta
will take place in the Georgia Dome this July in its second year.

This year's major event schedule will look a bit different than it has in previous years since corps will spend late July traveling west to Pasadena, Calif., in preparation for the World Championship events. "This will be an exciting 35th anniversary season for Drum Corps International, looking at the new events we will be producing as well as many of the tour stops which have become corps and fan favorites," said DCI Executive Director Dan Acheson. "Two of the West Coast events in Phoenix and in Stanford—in addition to being new on our schedule—will be hosted in brand new state-of-the-art facilities. We will also make our way back into some of our traditional locations like Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo) and Middle Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro) after we had to relocate those events in 2006 due to stadium renovations." Visit DCI.org in the coming months for more information about all of the exciting 2007 DCI events including event lineups, ticket on-sale dates, and other event-related information. 2007 Major Event schedule:
DCI Salutes America
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Annapolis, Md.
Saturday, June 16

DCI Chicagoland
Benedictine University
Lisle, Ill.
Sunday, June 24

DCI Central Illinois
Illinois State University
Normal, Ill.
Friday, June 29

DCI Kalamazoo
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Mich.
Saturday, June 30

DCI Eastern Classic
J. Birney Crum Stadium
Allentown, Pa.
Saturday & Sunday, July 7 & 8

DCI Louisville
University of Louisville
Louisville, Ky.
Wednesday, July 11

Masters of the Summer Music Games
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Friday, July 13

DCI Atlanta
The Southeastern Championship
Georgia Dome
Atlanta, Ga.
Saturday, July 14

DCI San Antonio
The Southwestern Championship
Alamodome
San Antonio, Texas
Saturday, July 21
  DCI Indianapolis
RCA Dome
Indianapolis, Ind.
Saturday, July 28

Drums Along the Rockies
INVESCO Field at Mile High
Denver, Colo.
Saturday, July 28

DCI Columbia
University of Missouri
Columbia, Mo.
Sunday, July 29

DCI West Texas
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas
Wednesday, Aug. 1

DCI Phoenix
Phoenix, Az.
Saturday, Aug. 4

DCI West Championship
Stanford University
Stanford, Calif.
Saturday, Aug. 4

DCI Division II & III World Championships
Pasadena City College
Pasadena, Calif.
Aug. 7, 10, 11

Individual & Ensemble Competition
Pasadena Convention Center
Wednesday, Aug. 8

DCI Division I World Championship
Rose Bowl Stadium
Pasadena, Calif.
Aug. 9-11


Dates and locations subject to change.