Drum and Bugle Corps Competition held in Cranston

By John Krinjak

Email: jkrinjak@abc6.com

Twitter: @johnkrinjakABC6

CRANSTON, R.I. (WLNE) — After 29 years of pomp and circumstance, the Fourth of July Drum and Bugle Corps Competition is still attracting the best of the best performers from across the country.

"We wanted to attract better bands, better corps to our parade in Bristol and that’s how we got in the business," said Drum Corps Subcommittee Chair Frank Fales. 

Seven corps–nearly a thousand musicians–from as far away as Georgia and Ohio all brought their A-game to Cranston.

"The corps—we’re all a big family, so we all push each other to be the best and the more that we do that the better we get every day," said drum major Emily Dawson of the Spartans, based in New Hampshire. 

These young men and women–most college–age, some still in high school–spend hundreds of hours practicing, planning and choreographing every move, every note. 

"These guys rehearse upwards of 16 hours a day. We’ve been at it for 14 days now. We moved into a local high school, we sleep in the gym, we eat out of a food truck. It really takes a lot to get here," said Spartans drum major Matt Mackay. 

And in the stands, America’s future corps performers.

"It sort of humbles us and shows us what we can do better," said Angelie Dumornay, a sophomore at Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School. 

"We see this huge marching band that’s doing all these crazy things we’ve never seen before. We’re like ‘oh, I wanna do that.’ It just makes us work harder.
said Bridgewater-Raynham senior Isaiah Crayton. 

The winner of this year’s competition was the Bluecoats of Canton, Ohio. 

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