Bushwackers’ 2025 production, at its core, is inspired by one catchphrase.
“Life is an endless series of beginnings.”
This summer, the New Jersey-based All-Age corps will explore this concept — the overarching theme of change — in a program titled, “Where Do We Begin?”
“It speaks to the shared experience that we all have as humans — how every ending is just another new beginning,” artistic coordinator Lauryn Griffin said. “It reflects on the idea that we were all created, and we’re gifted with the opportunity to be creative in our lives. So, we’re taking some time to look back toward the shared beginning that we all have — whether it’s the beginning of time, space, everything, or even just the beginning of our own lives.”
The Bushwackers are excited to announce their 2025 production, "Where Do We Begin?" ♾️ The journey starts now....
Posted by Bushwackers Drum Corps on Tuesday, March 25, 2025
So, where did “Where Do We Begin?” begin?
According to Griffin, it was one of the first ideas broached in early design conversations. As discussions continued, the concept had a certain mental magnetism to it.
“This was one of the concepts that was brought up early on, and it kind of just kept lingering in the background,” she said. “As we would discuss other concepts, for some reason, we all just kept coming back to this idea. We enjoyed the creative liberties we could take with it.”
On a deeper level, it speaks to characteristics of the Bushwackers experience. Each summer, as Griffin described, a new iteration of the drum corps — and any drum corps — reinvents itself, and experiences its own unique life cycle.
It’s true of the performers’ experience, but this year especially, it’s true of the designers’ experience, too. After a strong season under new artistic leadership in 2024, the Bushwackers’ hope is to take another step forward creatively this summer.
“For Bushwackers, we’re always looking for a new beginning as well,” Griffin said. “We’re always trying to reinvent ourselves and create who we are each summer.”
The production will follow a specific flow, taking different angles at the concept of change. With movements titled “I,” “You,” “You and I,” and “All of Us,” Bushwackers’ program will explore various human perspectives on change.
According to Griffin, the show will open with a “cosmic” sensation — intended to capture the feeling of the beginning of time — featuring Cody Fry’s “Caves,” which was performed by Blue Devils in the corps’ 2023 World Championship-winning program, “The Cut Outs.”
Beyond “Caves,” Bushwackers will use plenty of music that will be recognizable to various corners of the drum corps universe. The corps’ closing movement, for example, will feature “Bucimis,” a traditional Bulgarian piece previously featured by Carolina Crown in 2019 and also on the list of repertoire for the 2025 Madison Scouts.
Bushwackers also plan to play Stevie Wonder’s “You and I,” as performed by Jacob Collier, and Oliver Davis’ “Air Waltz.”
“The music is pretty cool because it’s a little bit more, in my opinion, in-depth than what we did last year,” executive director Jim Dugan said. “The music definitely allows for a lot of different varieties.”
Bushwackers’ 2025 visual design centers around eight stationary platforms arranged in an “S-curve” to represent the infinity symbol, with the center symbolizing “infinite beginnings.”
These stages will feature artwork inspired by fractals, hourglasses, and cosmic motifs that reflect the show’s theme of continuous creation and connection.
“We’ll be using fractal patterns, which are like never-ending beginnings,” Griffin said. “We’re really trying to look for all the inspiration that excites us when we’re crafting the show.”
According to Griffin, Bushwackers’ membership — a group that has grown significantly since last season, she said — has expressed plenty of excitement for the corps’ 2025 production.
And after a strong competitive season a year ago that saw the corps earn a top-three DCI All-Age finish, there are high hopes among the Bushwackers community to build on that momentum into the summer ahead.
“If you ask anyone on the staff, they would resoundingly say that this is a really great offseason, and the excitement is moving through the corps,” Griffin said. “We’re just trying to keep the energy moving. They’re definitely ready to get out there."
View Bushwackers' 2025 DCI Tour Schedule