The Blue Devils won on the West coast. The Blue Devils won on the East coast. Now, they’re in the Midwest, and they’re still winning.
On a cold, rainy night in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the corps from Concord, California, continued its hot streak, as a lineup of six corps took the field at the University of Saint Francis on Wednesday.
“Our show went very well tonight,” said J.P. Castro, Blue Devils drum major. “Although we didn’t wear shakos tonight because of the rainy weather, we had a splendid show, and I think the corps felt it. They were on fire tonight.”
As of press time, the Blue Devils’ score of 83.700 is the highest recorded thus far on the 2015 DCI Tour. Despite the group’s recent long-distance travels, it continues to find ways to win.
“The drum corps has done very, very well [with the travel],” Castro said. “The schedule has been changing constantly due to weather and due to travelling, and obviously time zone changes, but other than that, I think the drum corps is performing and rehearsing at a high level.”
With big competitions looming over the next several weekends, Castro hinted at tweaks to the corps’ production, “Ink,” that are in the works.
“We are changing some things in our show,” Castro said. “Heading into Minneapolis, the designers are going to be messing with the show and making changes ... The show is getting a little bit beefed up, to say the least.”
Carolina Crown
Carolina Crown took second place with a score of 82.900, narrowing the distance between them and the Blue Devils since their last meeting on Sunday night. The South Carolina corps earned high marks on Wednesday night in the color guard caption.
Crossmen finished in third with a score of 73.150. The San Antonio corps is holding steady with scores that will potentially put it among the top-12 corps at the DCI World Championship Finals for the third time in four years.
Jersey Surf was among the last of the World Class corps to kick off its 2015 summer tour and is quickly making up for lost time. The corps scored 62.150 in Ft. Wayne to finish in fourth.
“We had a lot of energy coming off the field,” drum major Cori Snyder said. “The corps members got into the performance, and then I got into it, and there were a lot of good vibrations—no pun intended.”
Jersey Surf’s 2015 production, “SunSurfing,” is constructed with audiences in mind.
“Look out for some really great tunes, they’re really recognizable,” Snyder said. “We really wanted to reach out to the crowd this year and let them get into the performance as much as we are.”
In Open Class competition, Genesis won its third competition in five attempts with a score of 58.850, marking its highest total so far this summer.
Louisiana Stars
Members of Louisiana Stars kicked off their 2015 summer tour with a score of 53.650. Their show, “Universal Melodies,” utilizes the music of Beethoven and takes creative risks with thematic twists.
“The show was really good tonight,” said drum major Jeremi Edwards. “The corps members worked together. The weather didn’t dampen our spirits.”
2015 is Louisiana Stars’ sophomore season. In its short history, the corps has already grown to 115 members.
“Last year, I was an assistant drum major, and we really had a lot of fun,” Edwards said. “But this year, the group just keeps on getting stronger. We know the ropes now.”
Louisiana Stars will next be in action at DCI Minnesota on Saturday, July 11, in Minneapolis. The event will feature 20 World, Open, and All-Age Class corps performing at TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota and can also be watched live online through the DCI Live! streaming video platform.
Contributing; Casey Smith