The 2026 Drum Corps International season has officially kicked off!
With a handful of shows (both scored and unscored) successfully in the book, and more coming your way this week, here are five main takeaways that piqued the interest of the FloMarching team after Opening Weekend.
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1. Gems Shine at Santa Clara Vanguard Showcase
While fans may not be wholly caught up on the history of the Boise Gems, that's sure to change during and after this DCI season. Founded in 2022 and making their debut as an Open Class Affiliate this season, the Gems have been blazing a path for themselves in the DCI space ever since their debut season. At the conclusion of their performance at the Santa Clara Vanguard Showcase this past weekend, not only is it worth noting that the size of the ensemble has increased, but the quality of their on-field product has soared to new heights. They're undoubtedly ones to watch both this season and beyond.
2. Percussion Sections Take Center Stage
Calling it now: The most hyped up section this season is going to be the Percussion section. Between Santa Clara Vanguard, Blue Devils, Troopers, Bluecoats, and Phantom Regiment, social media lost its collective mind over the drum books that have been written this season. And did we mention that the reigning Fred Sanford Award-winning Boston Crusaders haven't even made their debut yet? This race is going to be incredibly exciting to monitor throughout DCI 2026, and we cannot wait to see the progression of the marching members from now until August 8th.
3. The Year of Trombones & Tuba Features
The drum corps season is always more fun when there's a commonality amongst a handful of shows. This season, there are two: trombones and tuba features. Drum corps fans have grown accustomed to trombones being utilized more and more in recent years, both in the larger ensemble and as a solo instrument. Fans can look forward to seeing trombones used in fun and funky ways by Phantom Regiment, Bluecoats, and the Blue Devils, just to name a few, with Phantom Regiment utilizing trombones instead of euphoniums for the first handful of minutes of their show.
A newer trend that has seemingly started to become widespread this season: tuba features. Boston Crusaders have had some truly iconic tuba features in their shows for the last few seasons, but more corps have started to hop on the trend this season. Keep an ear out for some awesome features from Santa Clara Vanguard, Crown, and more this season.
4. Innovative Soundscapes
In true Bluecoats fashion, the Ohio-based corps stays innovating within the drum corps space. At the 2026 Bluecoats Opening Night Community Celebration, the Bluecoats debuted their 2026 production titled, "Gravity & Grace" which featured some innovative soundscape creation in the form of spinning speakers atop their props. The additional texture created by the speaker added a bit of signature Bluecoats sparkle to their show that is sure to entice audiences throughout the DCI season.
Alongside the Bluecoats, Carolina Crown's 2026 production titled "The Doors of Perception" also utilizes some interesting tech to create new textures in their show. While it's not fully clear based on the photos and videos exactly *what* this contraption utilized by Crown is, it appears to be a mouthpiece attached to a tube and a cone/funnel that ends up creating a buzzing sound to add to the playful nature of this particular segment of the show. While it may be a seemingly small detail, it adds quite a bit of punch to the overall show.
5. Mello Madness & The Troopers
A fun surprise from the Troopers at Drums Along the Rockies: Their opening hit featured a whopping 30+ mellophones. Based on what we saw on the stream, it appeared that the majority of the trumpet players for the Troopers (outside of a select number of members) switched out their instrument for a mellophone to help create a ridiculously fun opening hit for their 2026 production titled, "Into Darkness." It's not typical that DCI fans get to see this sort of instrumentation on the field, so bask in the wall of sound while you can! We cannot wait to see (and feel) this moment of the show in person.