 | |
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee |
|---|---|
| Division | World Class |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Director | Chaz Bledsoe |
Music City Drum and Bugle Corps is a competitive junior drum and bugle corps based in Nashville, Tennessee. The corps currently competes in the World Class division of Drum Corps International (DCI).
Music City was founded in 2009 by Keith Hall, a band director and former drum major for the then-defunct Memphis Blues Drum and Bugle Corps, who wanted bring back competitive drum corps to the Tennessee region. [1] The corps made its official debut competing in Drum Corps International as part of the Open Class division. [2] [3]
After five seasons of sustained growth, the corps made World Class semifinals in 2013, earning full membership within DCI. Unfortunately, after the season concluded, Music City announced that they were in severe debt and would be unable to return for the 2014 season. However, after a fundraising campaign and help from the DCI board, the corps was able to field for the next competitive season. [4]
In 2018, Music City was approved by the board of DCI to transition from Open Class to World Class. [5] Following its return to competition after the COVID-19 pandemic, the corps placed 17th for three consecutive seasons before attaining its highest ranking of 16th in 2025. [6]
Source: [7]
| Light blue background indicates DCI Open Class Finalist |
| Pale green background indicates DCI World Class Semifinalist |
| Year | Repertoire | World Championships | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Placement | ||
| 2009 | STRIKE IT UP... a celebration! Strike Up the Band by George Gershwin Theater & Ira Gershwin / Tennessee Waltz by Pee Wee King & Redd Stewart / Appalachian Morning by Paul Halley | 80.400 | 13th Place Open Class |
| 2010 | River Sounds Down in the River to Pray (Traditional) / St. Louis Blues by W. C. Handy / Can't Help Falling in Love by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore & George David Weiss / Mississippi Suite by Ferde Grofé / When the Saints Go Marching In (traditional) as performed by Luther G. Presley / Old Man River (Show Boat) by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II | 88.500 | 6th Place Open Class Finalist |
| 2011 | Let's Dance I Could Have Danced All Night by Frederick Loewe & Alan Jay Lerner / Bandstand Boogie by Charles Albertine / Waltz of the Flowers by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Rain Dance by Hunter Stricklin / Singin' in the Rain by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed / Jai Ho by A. R. Rahman / Tennessee Waltz Pee Wee King byRedd Stewart & / Dancing Machine by Hal Davis, Don Fletcher & Dean Parks / Shake a Tail Feather by Otha Hayes, Verlie Rice & Andre Williams | 84.80 | 8th Place Open Class Finalist |
| 2012 | Phantoms of the Grand Ole Opera Phantom of the Opera (1976 musical) of the Opera, All I Ask of You, The Point of No Return, and Music of the Night (all from The Phantom of the Opera (1976 musical)) by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe & Mike Batt / Ring of Fire by June Carter Cash & Merle Kilgore / Walkin' After Midnight by Alan Block & Donn Hecht / Sweet Dreams by Don Gibson / Your Cheatin' Heart by Hank Williams / Stand by Your Man by Tammy Wynette & Billy Sherrill | 83.85 | 9th Place Open Class Finalist |
| 2013 | Postcards from Havana El Cumbanchero by Rafael Hernández / Rapsodia Cubana by Ernesto Lecuona / A Mis Abuelos by Arturo Sandoval / La Suerte de Los Tontos (from Cuban Fire Suite) by Johnny Richards | 90.350 | 5th Place Open Class Finalist |
| 72.75 | 25th Place World Class Semifinalist | ||
| 2014 | Go West! Grand Canyon Suite by Ferde Grofé / Billy the Kid by Aaron Copland / [[The Red Pony (Copland)| by Aaron Copland | 72.975 | 8th Place Open Class Finalist |
| 2015 | In the Stars Mars, Venus, and Jupiter (from The Planets) by Gustav Holst | 71.125 | 7th Place Open Class Finalist |
| 2016 | Coronation Coronation Fanfare by Robert W. Smith / The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten | 72.150 | 6th Place Open Class Finalist |
| 2017 | Tribe Pagan Dances by James Barnes / Goddess of Fire by Steven Reineke / Trail of Tears by Michael Daugherty | 76.763 | 4th Place Open Class Finalist |
| 74.275 | 24th Place World Class Semifinalist | ||
| 2018 | Hell on Wheels: The Final Journey of Casey Jones Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne / Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen / Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin / Original Music by Robert W. Smith | 78.175 | 21st Place World Class Semifinalist |
| 2019 | Of Mice & Music Original Music by Robert W. Smith Concerto for Guitar and Jazz Orchestra by Paul Hart / Imagine by John Lennon | 76.650 | 23rd Place World Class Semifinalist |
| 2020 | Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2021 | Circuloso Original Music by CJ Barrow, Jeremy Thompson, Matt Penland & Tyler Sammons | No scored competitions | |
| 2022 | Gasoline Rainbows Original Music by Shane Gwaltney & C. J. Barrow | 81.763 | 17th Place World Class Semifinalist |
| 2023 | Violent Delights: A Rose and its Thorns Paint It Black by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards / Rite Of Spring by Igor Stravinsky / Any Other Name by Thomas Newman / Go, Lovely Rose by Eric Whitacre / Original Music by C. J. Barrow | 82.875 | 17th Place World Class Semifinalist |
| 2024 | Leave It At The River Wayfaring Stranger by Rhianon Giddens / Down by the Riverside (traditional) as performed by Grandpa Elliott / Fire Water Paper by Elliot Goldenthal / Pyramid Song by Radiohead / Down to the River to Pray by Alison Krauss / Liquid Spirit by Gregory Porter / Original Music by C. J. Barrow | 82.625 | 17th Place World Class Semifinalist |
| 2025 | It Tolls for Thee Requiem (Giuseppe Verdi & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) / Original Music by C. J. Barrow | 83.838 | 16th Place World Class Semifinalist |