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Phantom Regiment to host Charleston show following deadly bus crash

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An Illinois group returns to Charleston Monday night to host the annual Drums Across the Tri-State show following a summer filled with heartache.

A bus carrying staff and volunteers with the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps was involved in a deadly accident July 3. The bus driver, Donna Howard, was killed in the crash.

The rollover incident happened just east of the Arizona-California border.

It happened on Interstate 10 in Quartzsite, Arizona. The group was traveling from Riverside, California to its next show site in Mesa, Arizona.

“We really didn’t have a whole lot of time to stop and take a breath. We had to keep going every night, so it took us a good five days to kind of get our feet back underneath us,” said Rick Valenzuela, executive director of Phantom Regiment.

Valenzuela’s wife, Lori, was one of the eight passengers injured on the bus.

“She has a broken collar bone and some cracked ribs,” he said. “She’s going to be missed tonight.”

The corps is hosting the show Monday night at the University of Charleston’s Laidley Field. Six drum corps from across the country will perform. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Valenzuela said fans can expect to hear all different kinds of music.

“We’re playing a little bit more classical music. Blue Knights are playing more modern music, so if you don’t like that one, wait for the next one because I’m sure you’re going to like one of the six groups tonight,” he said.

Phantom Regiment’s 2017 show is entitled “Phantasm.” Valenzuela said the show brings a different look this year as they explore the boundaries of fantasy versus reality.

Charleston is one of many stops on the 2017 Drum Corps International Summer Tour. Groups work to perfect their shows every day for about 80 days during the summer months. Competitions are held nationwide leading up to the DCI Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana in August.

Each corps is made up of about 150 horn players, drummers and color guard performers.

One of the major ways Phantom was able to cope from the bus accident was to continue doing what they do best: perform.

“They live to perform, so getting back on the field was one of the best things we could’ve done,” Valenzuela said. “That old cliche of ‘the show must go on’ is really what it was. For the performers to express their emotions — we do that through music.”

The unfortunate event, Valenzuela said, has brought the group a lot closer this year.

“The kids talk to each other more, they bond more because you had to. Your mom, dad, brother and sister aren’t here. You rely on, what we call, the brothers and sisters around you,” he said.

The corps has hosted the show in Charleston since 2002.

The Phantom Regiment is a youth organization with members ages 16 to 21. The group has received many honors throughout its history serving as the 1996 and 2008 DCI World Champion.

Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office and range from $18-$23.

For more information about the Charleston show, CLICK HERE.





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