INDIANAPOLIS – Thousands of marching band teams from all across the country are visiting the Circle City this weekend as they compete in the Drum Corps International World Championship.
It was a packed house inside Lucas Oil Stadium Friday night as bands competed in the semifinals of the competition. Musicians and performers from all across the country filtered through, each marching to their own tune step by step.
“We’re running laps and we’re getting a workout in for sure,” described bass drummer Sofia Bolda, who is part of the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps, a group based out of Iowa.
The championship brings together some 6,000 brass musicians, percussionists and color guard dancers.
“For elite marching band performers, both at the high school and college level, there’s really nowhere else to go once you’re done with your career,” Drum Corps International CEO Nate Boudreaux said. “So, we offer them an outlet to basically give them an opportunity to showcase their skills and perform in front of big crowds.”
Boudreaux described these musicians and dancers as the “major leagues” of marching bands.
“We’ve got groups from all over the country made up of kids ages 16 to 21,” he said. “Again, they are the elite of the elite, the best in their craft.”
During Friday night’s semifinal performances, 25 teams took to the center of Lucas Oil Stadium to showcase their different tunes and displays. That includes one group from Iowa, coincidentally also named the “Colts.”
“I see our word all across the walls,” described Colts Drum and Bugle Corps Tenor Drummer Alex Fulkerson “It says Colts. I’m like, ‘Yep, that’s me.'”
The home of the Colts was filled with the sound of the “Colts” as Fulkerson and Bolda’s team performed in the familiar setting. While their group comes from Iowa, the two are both from Indiana.
Fulkerson is from Zionsville and Bolda is from Bloomington. Like many of this weekend’s performers, they spend the whole summer traveling and perfecting their skills.
“It’s a lot of getting on the bus when it’s pitch-black outside and then arriving at like the next state right when the sun is rising,” Bolda described. “Then getting a few hours of sleep before we do the whole day again. But it’s so rewarding in the end. Being able to perform and just see all the hard work pay off makes it so worth it.”
Between the notes, moves and rhythms, the teams and their teachers said there is so much more to DCI than just competition.
“I mean yeah we’re really great marching bands and drum corps, but it’s really about the friendships, the community and the support we offer each other,” Colts Drum and Bugle Corps Director Vicki MacFarlane said.
As they take center field, performers like Fulkerson and Bolda said a summer of hard work comes full circle when it ends right back in the Circle City.
“I’m looking up at the stadium, looking up at the crowd, and like this is my hometown,” Fulkerson said. “It feels just like home and I feel really powerful out there when I’m on that field.”
The top 12 teams will perform in the finals on Saturday as they compete for the championship title.
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