For several years, Genesis’ show design decisions have had the same starting point.
"We started from asking the question, ‘What do the members want to perform?’” CEO Chris Magonigal said. “‘And what does an audience want to hear and see?’”
That question, for Magonigal and his corps’ designers, yielded a simple answer.
“We tried to keep it as simple as possible and just come out and do straight-up, in-your-face drum corps,” he added.
With that approach as the foundation, Genesis developed a production inspired by the work of singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles; her 2010 song, “Kaleidoscope Heart,” is the central influence of the corps’ 2025 program of the same name.
As Magonigal described, while the production does have deeper layers in its design, it’s essentially just meant to be about color and movement, in order to keep a simple message that is easy to latch onto for performers and audiences alike.
"There's an underlying meaning to the show that we're putting on,” he said. “But performers and audiences want to see and hear color. They want to see and hear speed. The kids want to perform things that they connect to. So it's a very simple concept, and it'll be a very exciting drum corps show."
Genesis DBC is proud to present our 2025 production Kaleidoscope Heart! Inspired by the Sara Bareilles poem of the...
Posted by GENESIS Drum and Bugle Corps on Friday, February 7, 2025
Musically-speaking, Genesis’ team made a point to make the setlist for its 2025 production relatively recognizable. On one side of the coin, that means the corps will be keeping things modern — performing “snippets” of Bareilles’ aforementioned song, Chappell Roan’s “Kaleidoscope,” and Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings.”
“It's all about music that everyone loves,” corps director Edward F. Gobbel said. “ It's all about music that people are going to walk away singing, music that people can recognize that our performers are just going to love to perform.”
Additionally, Genesis will perform pieces like Leslie Bricusse’s “Pure Imagination” and Rogers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things,” the former being a song that the corps previously performed as part of its 2017 “The Other Side of Now” production.
"The overwhelming feeling that I've gotten is that the music is relatable, that it's powerful,” Magonigal added. “There’s stuff that people have done before, but there's a lot of stuff that nobody's done before, and the kids have just been overjoyed by the production so far."
Visually, Magonigal said fans can expect angular drill movements that feature reflective shapes, to simulate the visual sensation of a kaleidoscope.
“What you should see is a lot of very old school kaleidoscopic drill, which is our goal,” he said. “So, you harken back to the early 2000s Cavaliers, and we're pulling a lot of inspiration from the drill that they performed in those various years."
And while their drill design may invoke characteristics of the past, Genesis’ overall layout of the field will incorporate prop pieces for the first time in several seasons.
"We haven't done props in a couple of years,” Magonigal said. “So, getting back to that and making larger productions, we're just excited about being able to do that again."
For Genesis, the corps’ production is just one of several sources of excitement heading into the summer of 2025.
Both Magonigal and Gobbel described an increasing talent level for the Austin-based corps, as they continue to rebuild in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The talent level that we have top to bottom, I think, is an all-time high for the drum corps," Magonigal added.
And ultimately, as Magonigal noted, those performers — while continuing to grow in number and in ability — are growing all the more in excitement and hunger for the 2025 DCI Tour.
"We've got a fantastic vibe,” Gobbel said. “The corps members are pretty darn mature, and they're having a great time doing what they're doing. We're moving at a great pace."
View Genesis' 2025 DCI Tour Schedule
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