By Kevin Haas and Steve Summers
Rock River Current
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LOVES PARK —Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps will unveil this season’s field show Sunday in a special performance at Wedgbury Stadium, 8800 E. Riverside Blvd.
“Sometimes we have spring training in different locations, maybe further down south in Illinois or Indiana,” Todd Snead, director of programs for Phantom Regiment, said on This Week in the Stateline. “But this year we brought the corps back to Rockford so we could get reconnected with the city.”
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This year’s production is titled “Exogenesis,” and it draws inspiration from nature’s wonders and the interplay between organisms. The show is billed as “a mesmerizing fusion of sight and sound.” Music is drawn from diverse sources, including Muse, Oliver Waespi, Andy Akiho, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Stephen Melillo.
“The power and the passion of Phantom Regiment cannot be beat, and this year we have a really great group of members and an excellent staff,” Snead said. “It’s a great chance for the community to come out (and) not only see the corps, but also watch how we move and do all the work on the field.”
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Phantom Regiment was founded in 1956, and each year alumni fill the stands to see this year’s group.
“As alumni come back and they want to see the corps, they remember all those great times of being on tour and performing and the friends they’ve made,” Snead said. “It’s like watching a college football game, it’s that same kind of sense of pride and home that you have.”
The drum and bugle corps kicks off its summer tour Wednesday with the Midwest Premier in Rockford, Michigan. The tour includes the Midwest Classic in DeKalb on July 7 and the Show of Shows at Boylan Catholic High School on July 15, leading up to the DCI World Championships in Indianapolis from Aug. 10-12.
Know before you go | Phantom Regiment
What: The Phantom Regiment will unveil its 2023 field show, “Exogenesis.”
When: 8 p.m. Sunday, June 25
Where: Wedgbury Stadium at Mercyhealth Sportscore Two, 8800 E. Riverside Blvd., Loves Park
Cost: Admission is free but a $10 donation is recommended
Info: regiment.org
This article is written by Kevin Haas with interviews by Steve Summers. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.