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Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps
American World Class competitive drum and bugle corps From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps, or simply The Bluecoats, is a World Class competitive drum and bugle corps. Based in Canton, Ohio, the Bluecoats are a member corps of Drum Corps International (DCI). The Bluecoats have won the title of World Class Champion two times, in 2016 and 2024.
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History
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The Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps was founded in 1972 by Canton businessman Art Drukenbrod and Canton police officers "Babe" Stearn and Ralph McCauley (the head and assistant directors of the Canton Police Boys' Club). The corps members chose the name both because of their sponsorship and to honor the city's police officers, particularly those who had retired from the ranks. The corps made its competition debut in 1974, and in their first major show, finished 32nd of 37 corps in the U.S. Open Class A preliminaries in Marion, Ohio. The corps improved year by year, and began touring in both the U.S. and Canada and making U.S. Open finals in 1976, taking second place in 1977 and third in 1978, and making World Class Finals for the first time in 1987. The Bluecoats made their first DCI appearance in Denver, Colorado, in 1977, scoring 35th place among 45 corps.[1]
Although the corps was maturing musically, it was struggling to survive financially. In 1979, the corps only performed at local parades, as it attempted to reorganize its financial situation. With the return to the field in 1980, the corps was competitive in Class A competitions, but only managed a 38th-place finish of the 44 corps performing in Open Class at the DCI World Championships. In the next two seasons, the corps attempted to compete exclusively in Open Class, but they met with small success. In 1983, the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps announced it would cease operations.[2][3]
At the time that the corps' folding was announced, present-day corps President Scott Swaldo was a marching member. When he told his father, Canton industrialist Ted Swaldo, the elder Swaldo took over as director. Under the new director, the corps returned to the field after only a one-year hiatus. As a full-fledged Open Class corps, the Bluecoats improved with each passing year, until in 1987, the corps became the first corps from Ohio to earn a place in the DCI World Championship finals, finishing in 11th place. Since then, the corps has failed to make finals only once, in 1999.[2][3]
In 2010, the corps medaled for the first time at the DCI World Championships, taking the bronze with their production "Metropolis: The Future Is Now". In 2014, they once again took home the silver medal for their show "TILT", which is now cited as one of the most influential shows in the marching arts.[4]
In 2016, the Bluecoats won first place in World Class Finals, becoming only the 10th corps to be DCI champions since the competition began in 1972. The winning show, "Down Side Up", earned the corps' highest score (at the time) of 97.650, while winning the General Effect and Music captions. For 2016, the Bluecoats abandoned their traditional uniforms in favor of a more informal costume designed with the show's near-constant motion in mind; the brass and percussion sections wore white and the color guard wore yellow, both with a swirling, sequined blue accent stripe running from the left hand to the shoulder, across the chest, and down the right leg; Bluecoats also became the first corps to win the DCI title while not wearing any type of headgear.[5] This trend of nontraditional uniforms has continued since then, and has been emulated by numerous other corps since.[6]
At the 2019 DCI World Championships, the Bluecoats came in second place while scoring the corps' highest ever score (at the time) of 98.238.[7] Post-COVID, the activity resumed competitions in 2022, with Bluecoats landing in second place for the third time since 2014. They also attained medalist standing for the sixth time in seven competition years, a feat to which only one other corps can currently attest.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022, the organization also produced an Alumni Corps that performed at the DCI semifinals.[8]
In 2023, the Bluecoats partnered with EN-RICH-MENT, a local nonprofit youth arts organization, to establish the En-Rich-Ment Fine Arts Academy, a permanent home for free arts education in downtown Canton, Ohio. The initiative aims to provide underserved youth with access to music, dance, visual arts, and theater programming in a dedicated, community-centered space.[9]
In 2024, the Bluecoats announced a two-year musical partnership with Son Lux. The collaboration included the use of three Son Lux titles in the 2024 competitive Drum Corps International season, and new music composed for use in Summer 2025.[10]
Most notably in 2024, Bluecoats won their second DCI World Class Championship title, and finished the season undefeated (18–0) for the first time in the corps' history. The winning show, "Change Is Everything", earned the corps' new highest score of 98.750, while winning the General Effect caption and Visual and Brass captions for the first time in the corps' history.[11]
The reigning DCI champions announced their 2025 production "The Observer Effect" on June 28. On July 12, 2025, the Bluecoats premiered 'Endlessly', a brand new musical composition by Son Lux.[12]
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Show summary (1974–2025)
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Source:[13]
| Pale green background indicates DCI World Class Semifinalist[a] |
| Pale blue background indicates DCI World Class Finalist[a] |
| Dark gold background indicates DCI World Class Champion |
- From 1977-1991, the Bluecoats competed in Open Class, from 1992-2007 in Division I, and since 2008 in World Class. These are the same tier, just renamed.
- In 2022, the Bluecoats and the Boston Crusaders tied for 2nd place.
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Caption awards
At the annual World Championship Finals, Drum Corps International (DCI) presents awards to the corps with the high average scores from prelims, semifinals, and finals in five captions. The Bluecoats have won these captions:[14]
Don Angelica Best General Effect Award
- 2016, 2019, 2024, 2025
John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award
- 2024, 2025
Jim Ott Best Brass Performance Award
- 2024
Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award
- 2022
Traditions
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Blooooo...
At the Bluecoats first appearance at DCI Finals in 1987, their over-the-top arrangement of the "Autumn Leaves" brought forth the spontaneous long shouts from the audience of "Bloooo..."– a crowd reaction that began with one former member during the 1985 and 1986 seasons and amplified by Drum Corps Midwest announcer Joe Bruno and grew throughout the 1987 season. This has since come to be the audience's traditional greeting as the corps enters the field and response as they finish their show, which has become one of the most recognizable acts of audience participation in the drum corps activity.[15][16]
Corps song
The Bluecoats' corps song is, "Autumn Leaves", which became the corps' song after the 1987 season, in honor of the corps making its first Finals appearance. The song has remained a part of the corps' repertoire since 1987, and it reappeared in their 1988 and 1998 shows.[17]
Home show
Like most drum corps, the Bluecoats hold an annual home show in their hometown. From the early 1990s through the mid-2010s they operated two shows at different points in the season. The early show cycled over time generally between Massillon, Ohio and the University of Akron, but had been hosted in Parma, Ohio, Kent State University and North Canton Hoover High School. Post COVID the home show has been at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on the campus of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and attracts around 10,000 spectators as one of the final shows before Championship Week in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In 2019, the corps performed during halftime for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.[18]
Programs of...
In 1982, the Bluecoats started a Class A WGI winterguard titled Bluecoats Pageantry Ensemble (BPE). The group existed for one season under the management of Ted Swaldo, who would go on to be the executive director of Bluecoats after 1983. They finished 9th at the Northeast Regional and 12th at WGI World Championships in Nashville, just missing finals.
In 2000, the Bluecoats initiated and indoor drum line named Rhythm IN BLUE. It did not have any seasons beyond.
In 2009, the corps took over the program of struggling local WGI guard and renamed it Artistry IN BLUE, competing in five seasons between 2010 and 2018 in Independent A class. The group was voted a WGI Fan Favorite in 2016. Artistry finished 6th in 2018, 4th in 2016, 5th in 2015, 4th in 2013, 7th in 2010.
In 2014, Rhythm IN BLUE was initiated as an alumni legacy ensemble with on affiliation other than name with the 2000 drumline program. The ensemble featured between 20 and 50 members annually, performing at one or both of the Bluecoats home shows. In 2016 Rhythm IN BLUE debuted at the SoundSport International Music and Food Festival that accompanies DCI Championship week with a Silver Medal rating. From 2017 to 2019, Rhythm IN BLUE began a secondary movement ensemble in addition to the standing Legacy Arc format at Canton shows, this group average between 12 and 20 performers and attained a Gold rating each time at Indianapolis, Indiana.
In 2018, Bluecoats debuted Bluecoats INDOOR as a World Class WGI guard, finishing 12th in 2018 and 9th in 2019. It did not continue beyond the 2019 season.
In 2023, Bluecoats re-booted Rhythm IN BLUE as a competitive SoundSport ensemble available to anyone 18 and over, where the previous incarnation of Rhythm IN BLUE was a Bluecoats Alumni-centric ensemble. Performing approximately seven times each summer with an ensemble between 40 and 50 members, Rhythm IN BLUE has achieved Gold Medal status, Best of Class and Best of Show at the 2023, 2024 and 2025 SoundSport International Music & Food Festival. The former Rhythm IN BLUE as an alumni-center ensemble was rebranded as Legacy Arc and continues to perform at Bluecoats Opening Weekend of events.
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References
External links
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