As drum corps’ show reveals continue to appear, the defending DCI World Champions got in on the fun with an announcement of the corps’ 2022 production, “Tempus Blue.”
Here are four things we know so far about what the Concord corps has planned for the upcoming summer:
1. — #SapphireSummer
The Blue Devils have spent much of the offseason promoting their “#SapphireSummer” in 2022, alluding to the corps’ 65th anniversary.
With “Tempus Blue,” the corps plans to tie its anniversary roots — as well as, of course the foundational color of its logo and name — into its on-field programming.
This won’t be the first time Blue Devils utilize an anniversary theme in a show concept. In 2017’s “Metamorph,” the corps featured an array of diamond imagery for its 60th diamond anniversary.
2. — Recent Spin
When Blue Devils bring a popular early-1960s song, “Moon River,” to the football field, they’ll be doing so with a more modern flair.
The corps’ rendition of the song originally composed by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer is based on an a cappella rendition, performed by popular musician Jacob Collier.
Collier has a vast YouTube following, and his choral arrangement of “Moon River” has garnered more than four million views on the platform.
3. — 65 years, 65 centuries
According to Blue Devils’ announcement of “Tempus Blue,” the production is inspired by the origin and evolution of the color blue, which was originally discovered by ancient Egyptians in approximately 2500 BC.
Color, however — as the announcement release notes — has been an essential player in art and cultural expression for, as the corps estimated, about 6,500 years.
“Starting with the rise of civilization around 4500 B.C. and continuing to this day, people have found creative ways to produce colors for artistic expression,” Blue Devils’ 2022 show announcement release stated.
“Dancing on the historical timeline of this mysterious and dynamic color, the 2022 Blue Devils celebrate their 65th Anniversary with ‘Tempus Blue,’” the announcement added. “A universal perspective provides a musical palette of influence and style.”
4. — Sapphire Celebration
Blue Devils’ 2022 summer tour — and its return to the DCI stage for the first time since earning a gold medal in 2019 — is set to kick off Saturday, June 25, in Pasadena, California.
