DCI West Texas Returns July 16 to WT’s Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — Five drum corps from around the nation will converge at West Texas A&M University’s Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium on July 16 for a night of soaring brass and booming drums.

Drum Corps International’s DCI West Texas, presented by Fruhauf Uniforms, will kick off at 8:20 p.m. July 16 in the stadium on WT’s campus in Canyon. Tickets are $29 to $39 for reserved seating, plus fees.

Gates open at 7 p.m., and the box office opens at 6 p.m.

The evening will feature Arsenal from El Paso; Genesis from Austin; The Academy from Tempe, Arizona; Pacific Crest from City of Industry, California; and the Boston Crusaders from Boston.

Corps are traveling the country throughout the summer to perform in various competitions such as West Texas Drums. The season will culminate at the 2025 Drum Corps International World Championship Finals on Aug. 9 in Indianapolis.

This is the fifth year WT has hosted DCI West Texas, and audiences continue to grow, said Dr. B.J. Brooks, director of the School of Music in WT’s Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities.

“This year will be extra special because last year’s DCI World Class Silver Medalist, the Boston Crusaders, will be in competition,” Brooks said. “This will be an extraordinary evening. We have not had a corps of this caliber in attendance at this event before.”

DCI, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, features the world’s most elite and exclusive marching ensembles of student musicians and performers.

Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $165 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT, a Regional Research University, is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

Photo: Pacific Crest, a drum corps based in City of Industry, California, is one of the Drum Corps International ensembles that will perform July 16 at DCI West Texas in West Texas A&M University's Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium.

—WT—