Tonight was Koa’s final performance of his DCI career! Before the big show, Mariko and I took one last walk around Indianapolis. I’m not sure if we’ll make it back here again, but over the past four years we’ve really grown to love this city. It’s been such a special backdrop for so many unforgettable memories.

The Blue Devils’ finals performance was absolutely incredible – their best of the season, in my opinion. I couldn’t be prouder of Koa. To think that he earned a spot with the Blue Devils his very first year, went on to experience two championship seasons, and then finished his career in the center marimba position with a leadership role – it’s just amazing. Watching him grow through these years has been such a joy.

I truly believe that joining band back in middle school was a turning point in his life. The friendships, the lessons, and the community have shaped him in such a positive way. Band kids really are something special, and I’m so grateful Koa has been part of that world.

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The main reason we came out to California was to see Koa perform with the Blue Devils at the Rose Bowl. We hadn’t seen the band at this venue before, and this was our last opportunity to do so. In the end, eight of us went to cheer him on! It was a lot of fun, and of course, getting to see my son for the first time in two months was really special. 😊

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Tonight, Koa’s band won the DCI Championship! The photo above is when he was setting up for the victory encore performance. All the bands were mingling on the field after the awards ceremony, celebrating the end of a long DCI season. Please check out the video at the bottom of this post if you’d like to see what the victory performance was like. BTW, Koa’s marimba-cam was featured a lot in the video. 😀

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It’s the big day today! Koa’s Blue Devils will compete for the the top prize at the DCI Championship Finals!

But first, I started the day with a nice run around the canal area of Indianapolis. The 60°F / 16°C morning was too nice to sleep through! After that, Mariko and I did a bit of sightseeing at the Indiana War Memorial and Museum, which had an amazing exhibit of all the wars that Indiana citizens had taken part in… from the Revolution up to present day. I really liked seeing the old uniforms and shoes that they used to wear.

At the top of the building is a shrine. Very solemn and meaningful. Even though I am not from Indiana, I felt a sense of patriotism when standing in this room.

After sightseeing, we went for lunch, then some adult beverages at Metazoa Brewing Co. The beer was great, and it was fun to see so many dogs at this dog-friendly brewery. After that, we delivered some sushi rolls to Koa and the other Japanese kids who are in the Blue Devils. When they were in San Antonio, Mariko made bento and we dropped the food off for them. She knew that they would be craving Japanese food!

We went back to the hotel for a bit and then it was back to Lucas Oil Stadium for the finals competition. The Blue Devils were the favorite to win (I think all 22,000 attendees knew they would win), but the silver medal was up for grabs between The Boston Crusaders and The Blue Coats, who had tied in the semi-finals last night. Who would take the silver?

And guess what? The two drum corps tied again, and they were both awarded silver medals! It was a crazy moment. But I think they were both happy. And then, The Blue Devils received the gold, to no one’s surprise. Even so, I was so nervous for them!

After the ceremony, the field was cleared and The Blue Devils performed their encore “Victory Run”. The kids had so much fun during the last-ever performance of Tempus Blue. And the friends and family in the stands went nuts too! It was really fun! For this performance, the musicians were allowed to wear GoPros so Koa used ours to record his marimba playing, and a multi-cam view was put together as well. Check the bottom of this post for both videos.

It was a fun night, and then end of a memorable summer for Koa. Until next year!

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Since late May, Koa has been away from home traveling, practicing, and performing with his DCI team, The Blue Devils. This weekend they are in Texas, so we went to their rehearsal in Pearsall, and then we went to the DCI competition at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The show was awesome (all the bands were impressive!) but it was just good to see Koa again since it’s been a couple of months since he left.

I’m glad he’s having a blast this summer!

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Koa started his DCI career with a nice show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. We watched the livestream from the comfort of our living room and enjoyed the show very much!

For the past four years we have gone to see his high school marching band perform, but the DCI squad is a whole other level! I can’t wait to see them perform live later this summer. It should be awesome.

You can check out this year’s show here:

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