By Courtney Coffey
The 2026 Drum Corps International season is just around the corner, and for DCI fans, there is a lot to be excited about. This season is shaping up to be one of the most competitive summers the activity has seen in recent memory. Here is everything fans need to know before tour begins.
The 2026 DCI Season at a Glance
The 2026 DCI Tour officially kicks off June 26 with the Tour Preview in Muncie, Indiana — the first public look at what corps have been building behind closed doors. Competition kicks off the very next night, June 27, with Drums Along the Rockies in Fort Collins, Colorado, featuring Blue Devils, Phantom Regiment, Troopers, Blue Knights, and Genesis — four of whom were 2025 finalists.
From there, the 2026 DCI Tour spans more than 75 events across more than 30 states over six weeks, with the season coming to a head at the DCI World Championships in Indianapolis, August 3–8, at Lucas Oil Stadium for its 17th consecutive year.
Texas gets a particularly strong slate this year with confirmed events in Denton, McKinney, Dallas, Houston, and Central Texas. And if you don’t know, the Southwestern Championship in San Antonio that we all know and love is the first time that ALL World Class corps compete on the same night in the same place! The Eastern Classic in Allentown returns at the end of July, and DCI Annapolis is back on the schedule as well.
📅 View the full 2026 DCI Tour Schedule: dci.org/schedule
🎟️ Buy tickets to 2026 DCI events: tickets.dci.org
World Class: Corps to Watch — A Color Guard Perspective
Bluecoats enter 2026 as defending World Champions, and their color guard has been a centerpiece of their championship runs. In 2025’s Finals race, Bluecoats swept General Effect while Boston Crusaders took the Color Guard caption — a close, contested battle between two programs with completely different visual design philosophies.
Boston Crusaders earned the Color Guard caption at 2025 World Championships — a historic moment for a corps that has been steadily ascending the rankings. The guard is ALWAYS undeniable, and their guard work in 2025 was extremely technically demanding and the performances were emotionally committed, which is exactly the combination that is memorable for both the judges and the audience.
Genesis, making the trip to Fort Collins for the season-opening weekend at Drums Along the Rockies, is one of the programs that DCI fans who pay close attention to guard quietly appreciate every season.
A Note on the Mandarins
It would be wrong to preview the 2026 DCI season without acknowledging the absence of one of the most consistent color guard programs in the activity. The Mandarins announced in late 2025 that the corps would be sitting out the 2026 season, citing the economic pressures affecting performing arts organizations nationwide. We will miss them, but we can’t wait for their (hopeful) return in 2027!
Open Class is Where It’s At!
DCI Open Class is where some of the most passionate, creative, and hungry color guard programs in the activity compete — and for DCI fans who only follow World Class, you are missing something special. Open Class Championships take place August 3rd and 4th this year at Welcome Stadium at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, in a new venue after a scheduling conflict with the usual site in Marion, Indiana.
The biggest storyline in Open Class heading into 2026 is the departure of the Spartans. The New Hampshire corps won three consecutive Open Class World Championships in 2023, 2024, and 2025 before moving on to World Class for 2026. Their transition to World Class is a massive moment for the activity and will make the competition this year unlike ever before!
Two brand-new corps join Open Class in 2026: Zephyrus from Tulsa, Oklahoma and Memphis Blues from Memphis, Tennessee.
With the Spartans gone and the field more open than it has been in half a decade, the 2026 Open Class race will be one of the most unpredictable storylines of the entire summer.
All-Age Class: A New Era Begins
If you have never watched a DCI All-Age corps perform, 2026 is the year to start — because this division is undergoing its most significant structural change since joining DCI.
For the first time, DCI All-Age Class will compete as one unified division in 2026, eliminating the World, Open, and A subclasses that defined the division in 2024 and 2025.
The All-Age division features some of the most storied names in the history of this activity — corps that have been performing for decades and bring a depth of tradition and community that is unlike anything else in drum corps.
Reading Buccaneers enter 2026 as the defending All-Age World Champions after a dominant 2025 season that saw them sweep all captions, including Best Color Guard. As a 20-time Drum Corps Associates (DCA) World Champion now competing under the DCI banner, the Buccaneers are one of the most anticipated programs to watch out for this year.
Hawthorne Caballeros are entering their 80th anniversary season in 2026, a milestone that has the New Jersey corps energized heading into the summer. They finished as All-Age silver medalists in both 2024 and 2025.
Bushwackers, also out of New Jersey, have earned back-to-back All-Age bronze medals.
Two new corps join the All-Age division in 2026: Northern Lights from Muskegon, Michigan and MBI from St. Paul, Minnesota!
All-Age corps will close their regular season on August 4 in Ohio, with All-Age Championships happening at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on August 7–8 — meaning DCI fans at World Championships will get the opportunity to see All-Age corps perform on the same stage as the World Class corps for the first time.
How to Watch the 2026 DCI Season
DCI has continued its partnership with FloMarching to stream select events throughout the summer, beginning with Drums Along the Rockies on June 27 and running all the way through the 2026 DCI World Championship Finals in August. Over 30 events will be available to stream live, with rebroadcasts available the following day for every streamed event.
Big, Loud & Live also returns to theaters this summer for a special showing of DCI 2026 World Championship Prelims on Thursday, August 6.
📺 Stream the 2026 DCI season on FloMarching: flomarching.com
📺 Full 2026 DCI live streaming schedule: flomarching.com/articles/15573414
🎟️ Get tickets to events near you: tickets.dci.org
🏆 DCI World Championship Finals info and tickets: dci.org/events/2026-dci-world-championship-finals
✨ Sign up for notifications for Big, Loud, and Live Tickets: https://www.fathomentertainment.com/releases/dci-2026-big-loud-and-live/
Stay in the Loop All Season Long
Want help following the 2026 season? I’ve got you. Sign up for the Simply Colorguard email list to get color guard coverage, DCI season updates, and community resources delivered straight to your inbox all summer long. You will not miss a thing.
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The season is almost here. See you on the field.
Simply Colorguard is a company and community resource for color guard performers, instructors, and marching arts fans covering all things colorguard — from technique and education to season previews and competition recaps. Simply Colorguard covers drum corps color guard, winter guard, WGI, DCI, marching band guard, Open Class drum corps, All-Age drum corps, and the color guard community nationwide.
