Top 20 Best Drum Corps Shows of 2024

[@larryclement1917]

If you weren't already aware of it, the Troopers' guitar player is contract and 15 years old.

[@RecordsSam]

what???? that's crazy cool.

[@EMCproductions]

I was not aware. That's crazy.

[@ZakhadWOW]

@@EMCproductions he is actually contracted as a Mello.

[@racerxavier]

He's 16 now, but still. Dude's got Rockstar levels of guitar playing!

[@ryleesleeper7220]

I did not expect us to be that high! Thanks for the kind words! SGU!

[@jaceeekgary]

SGU 💪

[@husky12gaming]

Best open class corps! ❤

[@ZakhadWOW]

I heard multiple podcast/vidcasts, and press sites refer to Dead Reckoning as a World Class show design - high praise indeed.

[@Jas7567]

Saw you guys at Open Class Prelims. I loved Dead Reckoning!

[@robertgiudice5257]

SGU ❤

[@deacondingledine5200]

Being there in person, it was obvious phantom was the crowd favorite. The cheering was so loud

[@39sprinkle]

I was also there in person and Troopers definitely received more cheering lol

[@deacondingledine5200]

@@39sprinkle maybe with the finale, but from the announcement, and every single hit phantom had more all the way through

[@sceu25]

@@39sprinkleI was there too, a lot of the cheering came from the Guitar and the Devil getting murdered. Phantom’s crowd had amazing energy through from the opening hit to the closer.

[@sassyacademy6943]

@@39sprinkle it may have seemed like it but if you listened it was much louder lol ( imo)

[@Euphoniumtism]

Same experience at the Cincinnati Summer Music Games. Mynd rocked the crowd.

[@Generl1107]

RIP Cavaliers faces.

[@essdsadad6793]

It’s weird to think he could potentially march the 2030 dci season

[@voiceofreason9238]

Phantom was my favorite as well. The Z Pull tribute to the Cadets at the end was tremendous and much appreciated.

[@torbenvancrayenest]

As someone who marched Spirit of Atlanta, I LOVE that we made top 5 in your list! Thank you!

[@theslider8917]

As someone who also marched spirit of atlanta I also would like to add that I am so happy we're in your top 5

[@RedDogMamaHD]

I saw your show on FloMarching before I met up with the Sacramento Mandarins at McKinney. Then I was able to see them live in Atlanta! It was fun sitting with Eric when he saw the show for the first time in Indy! (You got rained out in Allentown, just like the Mandarins!)

[@antoniolozano103]

Torben!!

[@dogestep64]

The show was so good and I loved the aggressive battery book 🔥

[@darealsad75]

7:02 I made the vid! Glad you enjoyed the show, it was a lot of fun to perform.

[@garrotmon]

Btal mentioned. LETS GO UTAH

[@brockburgi994]

SGU

[@ZakhadWOW]

founded in 2014, but only fielded in 2016, and only went east in 2022.. 3rd trip to Marion/Indy and they ended up tying a World Class corps in semis. I dont think ANYONE can say a single negative thing about what "El Batallon" has accomplished.

[@bananimations8673]

SGU!!! 😎

[@Torqueasi]

As BTAL Staff and a Parent, I couldnt be more proud of the kids this season! #SGU

[@natelink9516]

So glad you loved Phantom this year! My mom and sister both marched with them, and my mom is on staff now! Had the pleasure to meet you in the concourse after finals for a pic 🙌

[@mutantpugs]

3:33 I was actually part of the reason that the cavaliers faces were removed in the season believe it or not, I made a TikTok about them at a competition making fun of the Ai faces that blew up and a few of the corp members reached out saying that the TikTok was one of the reason they got cut 💀

[@YaNever124]

Not my school possibly trying to buy phantom regiments props for are indoor percussion show. 💪

[@patrickalvarado7687]

Good luck my friend those damn things are HEAVY and a pain to take apart and put together 😂

[@hartsgd9172]

I had a chance to march Bushwackers this season as a fill in for an immediate trumpet opening, but my parents told me no so i sadly wasnt able too. I’ll probably be disappointed about that for a long time.

[@joeplavin]

You're young, you'll be fine. You have plenty more years to march drum corps

[@unstabletwig1038]

gg on thanatophobia

[@hartsgd9172]

@@unstabletwig1038 thanks lol, that was a while ago. I beat Acu too

[@maxanderson8329]

Honestly so glad someone else appreciates phantom and scouts as much as I did this year

[@stankatbarrell9878]

Phantom KILLED IT this year! So proud of them. My high school band director marched with them in '91 and a guy I was in band with marched with scouts this year

[@Tyler_Thiel08]

Hey my friend Gavin marched with the Battalion and at 6:43 you can see him in the background with his euphonium!!

[@weeklyadventures8335]

troopers was my favorite show by far. I bought so much merchandise this year from them.

[@sassyacademy6943]

no offense but it was so wrong they had a cross upside down and it was about making a deal with the devil i would die before supporting that show

[@Randomname2908]

@@sassyacademy6943it was about cowboys killing the devil

[@imdome9768]

@@sassyacademy6943 they literally killed the devil at the end

[@andrewbay8891]

@@sassyacademy6943it was about cowboys killing the devil

[@aced6294]

​@@sassyacademy6943it was about cowboys killing the devil

[@RicardoHernandez-ue5kx]

The Battalion mentioned!!! SGUUUU!!! I marched there :)

[@bananimations8673]

SGU!!! 🎉

[@RyanGordon-ix3qk]

SOA's show in your top 5 is hype!!!

[@RedDogMamaHD]

Had a great time sitting with you, Eric at DCI Finals. The Mandarins got rained out in Alllentown on Saturday, so I didn't get to watch with him like I did in 2023. But the Indy tickets are already ordered for next year!!!

[@magicalunicorn1296]

The way phantom regiment started with soft bethoven then lead in to the beat drop with the drums and exploded with the trumpets was so good

[@allisonbergold2038]

😭 Let's go BTAL!!

[@jontebbe5762]

Did Blue Stars dirty man! lol

[@bobbarksofficial4335]

15:10 Fred STANFORD Award? Don't you mean Sanford? Lol

[@michaelaikens1395]

Went to my first DCI in Pittsburgh. I loved every show but my top favorites were SCV, Madison Scout and Academy

[@EddiePaul-b6o]

Could you review how the All-age corps preformed? i wasn't able to find them online at all and how they all did for the first year

[@willquarles4033]

Should I try and march Bushwackers???

[@EMCproductions]

Yes.

[@willquarles4033]

@@EMCproductionsany tips?

[@christianstainazfischer]

@@willquarles4033 don't be afraid to take things so unbearably slow, like no joke take all the audition stuff at 50% tempo max when you first start and only bump it up one click at a time and only if you can absolutely play it perfectly at that tempo, pay good attention to your sound quality, staying relaxed, etc. If you want to make it anywhere, DO NOT settle for anything that's not your absolute best. And don't let the other things go too, pay attention to your posture through your practice sessions, and don't neglect practicing marching on its own and marching with the playing. Get creative, lay out garden hoses or something for make shift yardlines. If you really REALLY want to go march somewhere, not specifically Bushwackers, but anywhere, you need to do your utmost to not just make it, but strive to be the best one there while still maintaining humility of course. Come up with different variations of your exercises, use the exercises as primers to execute the show music to your best. Make your own exercises for the exercises. If there's a will there's a way. Last thing, and the most important one, you gotta practice every day. The brain has a 24-48 hour window of actually retaining anything you work on to the highest quality. No joke 15 minutes a day every day is far more beneficial to improvement than nothing for 3 days and then one 8 hour practice session and another day or two of nothing. Hope this guides you in the right direction and good luck!

[@kamithesnom]

As someone who marched bush this past season, YES! It’s an awesome corps with great culture and excellent staff. I can’t talk much about the other sections as much, but hornline all of our staff is awesome. They pushed us hard to be the best we could be every weekend, but didn’t forget to have a little bit of fun. One of the best marching experiences I’ve had 💙🩷

[@_swimmerboi9370]

YES!!! My friend and I bought tickets to canton and barely could afford front row on the left 30. (Phantom regiment) When the mellophones split off into 4's and have staggered entrances, we could physically feel just 4 mello's blasting right at us

[@thefirstgoose6076]

4:02 the trumpet player jamming out to the very left of the soloist is my buddy who I marched in high school with. cool to see him in an emc video

[@IanlikesCards]

One of my drum directors this year was a co-founder of the Bushwackers. His name is Bob.

[@emperyal_]

seeing music city almost in your top 12 made me so happy it was so much fun to march there and i’m so glad you enjoyed our show

[@magicalunicorn1296]

Santa Clara Vanguard and Tri Cities Colombian sounded so good from those clips i might need to watch their whole shows, and Boston Crusaders them looked cool

[@pxevo2418]

Spartans brass this year sounded very mature for open class. Superb.

[@kack901]

YAY SPARTANS!! I was in the trombone feature :)

[@RedDogMamaHD]

Shows Eric's 2024 rank, DCI Final rank, and Eric's selection in 2023 and 2022 Eric's time- 2024 2023 2022 Rank stamp Corps DCI Finals Eric Eric 1 23:30 Phantom Regiment 4 4 8 2 21:57 Bluecoats 1 5 1 3 20:32 Troopers 10 3 3 4 19:12 Boston Crusaders 2 1 2 5 17:57 Spirit of Atlanta 16 12 6 16:41 Madison Scouts 12 20 20 15:34 Honorable Mentions 7 14:17 SCV 6 -- 13 8 13:06 Blue Devils 3 8 7 9 11:41 Carolina Crown 5 7 4 10 10:37 Mandarins 7 2 9 11 9:35 Pacific Crest 13 HM 1 17 12 8:35 Blue Stars 8 13 14 8:05 The Commandant's Own 13 7:06 Music City 17 HM 2 16 14 6:08 The Battalion (O)4 HM 7 15 5:22 Crossmen 15 16 15 16 4:18 Colts 9 10 11 17 3:11 Cavaliers 11 6 5 18 2:09 Blue Knights 14 15 19 19 1:06 Spartans (O)1 14 20 0:00 Bushwackers (All age) 3 15:34 Honorable Mentions Blue Devils B (O)2 Reading Buccaneers (All age) 1 Columbians (O)5 18 Genesis 22 19 12 Gold (O)3 11 Rhythm IN BLUE Soundsport Best in Show Hawthorne Caballeros (All age) 2 Seattle Cascades 23 HM 5 Jersey Surf 24 HM 4 The Academy 18 17 10

[@ColonialForbin]

Raiders, stentors, 7th, and colt cadets got cut lol

[@williampletcher8091]

Good think that Loopy Grandma does this every year!!!

[@edbaabace5073]

As a member of the Seattle Cascades I say I am proud to have march this corp, though this was my only year I would be able to march, I am very happy I was able to help the Cascades break a new record

[@MAPEX_17]

Can u make tenor drums out of drumkit snare drums for ur next video Anyways, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK Edit: why haven't emc Saw my comment

[@Furoremm]

He already did that

[@jazztheory]

​​@@Furoremm he did a drumkit, and marching snares, not exactly a drumkit snare/concert snare

[@MAPEX_17]

Dude, y'all need to stop, ok, he has made wacky builds so I'm sure he can do that

[@gavinbaker3341]

When I see the hoola hoops from Boston I thought it was a visual representation of binary code 😂

[@RVVDont]

Someone had a very interesting idea from On The Bash Hash podcast that Boston was glitching in and out of other Corps styles or signatures the entire show.

[@lukedyer1329]

My front ensemble tech played marimba for Music City this year. Glad they made it on the list!

[@RolandBough]

Great Analysis Eric, being a person who has done "all-age" and everything, I enjoyed the fact you mixed it up across the classes. I especially thank you for recognizing Creatures @SoA in your list (I won't spoil the slot you gave). When I first heard Michael Martin's opening brass statement at JSU during spring training. Let's just say I knew it was going to be something special. And it certainly was.

[@wadpaw]

I got to watch the troopers live along with the Mandarins and omg it was one hell of a sight, they were amazing, that guitar player can really shred

[@luvspaiste]

Phantom really turned some heads this season. So did Pacific Crest (next year they will be in finals.) Music city always puts out an entertaining program.

[@andrewjaschke7795]

Just want to give a shout out to PC crew for killing it. Was a part of the corps in 2019 when we topped the highest score then and placed 14th. But it's sad to see them cut the cymbal line while everyone's been phasing them out.

[@saphfire6486]

LETS GO TOP 5 KSASOA

[@Olorotyrant]

Ik a few peeps in the scv drumline so it was so cool seeing them in person 😄😄

[@RockBlaster71]

I'm glad that I live in Casper so I can watch troopers rehearse for the first month every year

[@sirjoshyyy_2024]

If you look closely at the cavaliers props when they’re together, there’s an image of eyes. Design team changed the faces to these patterns because lots of people were making fun on the props.

[@CalebDaThing]

I'm glad both pnw corps could be honorable mentions :)

[@mattdrumdawg]

Both shows were great even early season in Renton!

[@bean217]

Was genuinely not expecting to see Bush on here. It was a fun season filling a euph hole :) Sko Boosh

[@blueflame_6159]

Thank you for that!! I was apart of the Spartans guard this year!❤

[@Bassdrumguy29]

You should do a top 20 favorite dci shows of all time.

[@EMCproductions]

First I need to watch every DCI of all time.

[@Bassdrumguy29]

Lol

[@RVVDont]

I think my favorite World Class was Phantom Regiment. Open Class has to be The Battalion and Columbians! All-Age Class (A/O/W), Cincinnati Tradition! US Marine Drum and Bugle Corps drumline busted out a McNutt Special during their show. Loved it.

[@Trubactor]

So funny story: I did a two day sorta-beginner drum corps type thing. It definitely was not for me, but we got to play in front of people, and also saw a couple of the corps you put on this list. Like the troopers and the blue stars! It was neat!

[@CRTR_1]

Lets go battalion!!! SGU, Thanks EMC!

[@bananimations8673]

SGUUUUU

[@swankycheese5024]

The picture of him teaching bushwackers looks exactly like wendigoon lol

[@adenolenti]

Congrats on the New York Times shoutout!

[@DebbieWolgemuth]

Glad to see that someone else thought Phantom Regiments show was their favorite!

[@santiagocabrera65]

You should see how the march drums are used in Costa Rica and Panama. In a Independent band. I hope you can see it and you like it.

[@GQuesada]

I'd love to know your thoughts on Brazilian "School of Samba" the traditional marching bands for our Carnaval. Love the videos btw

[@fioletovium7801]

Rhythm IN BLUE mentioned 🗣️ thank you for the HM

[@whitenutella]

Yeah btal!!!! Lets gooo!

[@bananimations8673]

SGU 💪

[@eloraolivieri1160]

People from our high school band always do at least a year of Spartans and I can’t wait until I’m old enough

[@littlepirate411]

Good morning! This is video 431 of me asking for a drumline gym made out of various marching percussion instruments, such as the tenor barbell, and bass drumbbells.

[@juanlarranaga40]

Yeah Cascades honorable mention 💪🏼

[@user-gd3zl9cb7i]

What if the 2026 troopers show is about someone in the dark after they lasso the sun

[@iancole2279]

Honestly, I would have put Blue Devils a little lower. I’d put them behind Crown and Madarins tbh Also the troopers were awesome this year! I’m so glad they fired all their visual design staff this year. What a cool move.

[@TheFelloMello]

This is an awesome video idea! And I know you've done it in past years as well. It would be cool if you did something like this as like, a finals week preview. I feel like I would have enjoyed these shows a lot more if I knew more about each idea. And yes, I could go and do The research myself. But I am a combination of too lazy and too busy. 😂😂

[@Cheaner]

I went and watched a show in Missouri with my school and the Phantom Regiment did so good

[@northfoxone]

I agree with all of your corps choices! Bluecoats did deserve to win this year, but phantom and Boston were my favorite shows this year

[@Youravarageperson698]

One of my friends was in the scouts

[@adumbusername1440]

Fred Stanford is crazy

[@PedroMartinez-tt7lr]

My three favorites: 1. Phantom 2. Mandarins 3. Boston Thanks for the video!

[@willmason8421]

Well done. I think Spirit was robbed.

[@hamdogo]

Shout out Carlos (my creature prop)

[@sidewalkfish9256]

I thought the cavaliers show was about the beauty of nature taking over materialistic society, the people turning the metallic armor (city/machine/robotic) green was nature taking over, the red thing meant the society bleeding and what used to be the faces were weather maps showing the storm taking over.

[@freshbeans]

been waiting for this video, time to curl up with a gatorade and some chips to enjoy this countdown

[@Frenchbeemusic]

i loved the bushwackers !!!

[@Daniel_Lelievre]

Great video, I really liked the ending

[@awesomeboxlord]

for the cavaliers show I wont lie as much as much as the faces were cool, being laughed at a lot of the times they revealed the faces wasnt so fun, so on finals week it was changed to that artwork with a vague eyeball when they were put together (could have been a bit more obvious though)

[@boisacatt]

No mention 😢 but Atlanta CV!!!

[@BDawg_52791]

The Phantom Regiment opener was such an amazing cover of Moonlight Sonata

[@RecordsSam]

Let's go Scouts!!!!

[@Trainboy2005]

0:46 My parents built that train! Also helped rebuild the podium after they finally got it!

[@echowood1732]

RIB mentioned 😍

[@kirbs7699]

watching phantom at bell level at finals was a crazy experience

[@phoenixmcgrew2964]

Not to brag, but my director marched SCV 2016-2018 and now works at Phantom

[@donnyhelvey]

Btal!!!!🔥

[@bananimations8673]

SGU 😭 ofc we made it, we have the best media team in the business 🤗

[@milansnippe465]

I just practiced flammable and it kinda worked out it’s really sick one

[@milansnippe465]

*flammus

[@orangepanda5748]

15:59 the tuba player is my brother!

[@amlbproductionsmusicandorc8084]

That Billy Madison reference was hilarious 😂

[@richchinnici6182]

The Cavaliers nicknamed the giant faces "Giga Chads". Also, if you look closely at the revised artwork when pushed together, it forms a giant pair of eyes.

[@kevinb9790]

Great reviews of all the shows and their repertoires.

[@Thatfatginger0]

could you do a video where you rank the all-age shows?

[@gaberussel]

I think atlanta CV did really good this year

[@vractivracti7525]

GO COLUMBIANS!

[@bananimations8673]

Yall's show was amazing this season! Good job being legends 💪

[@TLH_PerformingArts]

Hi EMC, what are your opinions on 7th Regiments 2024 production?

[@luisn642]

Better Call Saul reference 🗣️

[@Ghostbc10]

I recently got the tenor part in my marching band, do you have any tips for the pain of wearing the harness with the quads

[@Encyclopedist]

Regarding the devil as a guitar rather than fiddle player (from Troopers' show), look up the 1986 film "Crossroads" starring Ralph Macchio with a story loosely inspired by the legends surrounding Robert Johnson and with music by Ry Cooder.

[@MinerLink17]

Thanks for the honorable mention to the 2021… I mean ‘24 caballeros

[@DiSCO_YT]

honestly I don’t understand the colts being all the way down at 16 lmao on fields was easily a top five show this year for me