Best of the Best American Drum Corps Perform This Weekend

This weekend some of the nation’s most elite drum corps will take to the TCF Stadium field. Among them will be Robbinsdale Armstrong graduate Joe Jaeger.

Twenty-five corps will perform Saturday at DCI (Drum Corp International) Minnesota, in a field competition on the University of Minnesota Campus. 

“It's always been my goal to march in a DCI-level corps,” said Jaeger, 20, of Robbinsdale, in a news release. “I guess I'm living the dream.” 

Corps consist of up to 150 marching musicians and visual artists, who play in the drum line or horn line or perform in the color guard. Jaeger plays snare drum with the Blue Stars of LaCrosse, Wis.

Jaeger played snare at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School, joined Minnesota Brass in 2009 and auditioned for and made the Blue Stars drum line this year. 

Jaeger's parents, Bea and Sam Jaeger, are long-time members of Minnesota Brass, a St. Paul-based all-ages corps that also will perform at DCI Minnesota, according to a news release. Bea was pregnant with Joe when she marched in 1990.

“As soon as he could grip a spoon, he grabbed drumsticks,” she said.

• DCI MINNESOTA
• What: An unprecedented gathering of 25 top drum and bugle corps from across the nation.
• When: 1:30 to 10 p.m. July 16
• Where: TCF Stadium, University of Minnesota.
• Tickets: $30 to $60; www.dci.org or (317) 275-1212.