The Eastern Classic is simply one of the most cherished events in Drum Corps. It’s a back-to-back, two-night brawl between corps that are reaching their peaks, or staving it off for one more week.

Corps members are fully aware that the season is coming to an end. There are a finite number of performances left. And, the 2018 versions of each of these corps will never exist again. 

But they get one more shot in Allentown before it's all over.

One of the most unique aspects of Allentown is the fans. The fans know the Eastern Classic is a turning point in the season. They also know good drum corps, and how to show a good drum corps a wall of applause in the one-sided stadium.

So what should we expect come Friday night and Saturday night?

Friday’s Lineup

Beginning at 6 PM ET, there will be 14 performances and there’s a couple of very interesting bullet points to Friday evening’s show. 

Music City made the jump from Open Class to World Class this year and they have been an absolute smash.

In 2017, they finished 4th in Open Class and then went on to qualify for semifinals in Indianapolis. Music City finished the season in 24th with a 74.275. 

They’ve already blown past that score on July 30th with a 74.850 and they are currently projected to finish 19th in our rankings. 

Make sure you jump on the train at 7:01 PM ET for their show.

Typically the top 3 corps heading into this weekend is split up between Friday night and Saturday. But not this year. 

Santa Clara, Blue Devils, and Bluecoats all perform on Friday night. Which will make for a furious finish to see who has the upper hand heading into World Championships. 

SCV just broke the 95 plateau with a 95.100 in Chester, PA on August 1st and put a healthy spread between themselves and Bluecoats (1.950). Meanwhile, the Blue Devils captured a win in Annapolis on July 31st with a 94.075. 

Saturday’s Lineup

Less than 24 hours later, corps will again be taking the field in J. Birney Crum for the Saturday night version of the Eastern Classic. And this one is no less of a spectacle. 

The fight for that all important 12th spot at finals continues to be a close one. Saturday will provide yet another opportunity to see corps who are in the hunt perform back-to-back-to-back.

The Academy, Spirit of Atlanta, and Crossmen are all trying to return to finals.

The Academy are clawing for every point to get back to finals. They made a huge splash in 2016 when they cracked finals for the first time in corps history. 

Meanwhile, Spirit of Atlanta is looking to have their highest finish since 2013 when they finished 11th. Can they gain enough momentum in the final week of the 2018 season to jump into 12th? They’ll need a strong performance in Allentown to do so.

But the Crossmen have finals plans of their own. If Bones make it to finals, it will be their 5th year in a row. The last time Crossmen could say that is 2004 when the Crossmen had a long run of finals appearances from 1989 to 2004.

Then you have the duel between The Cavaliers and Boston Crusaders. The Cavies edges out Boston in San Antonio (88.412 to 88.250) and again in Murfreesboro (89.325 to 89.050). However, Boston was able to overtake The Cavaliers in Atlanta (89.975 to 89.925).

Meanwhile, a full moon must be coming out because Carolina Crown's Beast is changing its form a lot. Drill changes and prop additions have added a boost to their GE scores and they will most certainly be looking to catch SCV, BD, and Bluecoats from Friday night.

Are you ready for a good ol' fashion East coast style knock down drag out fight? Well, you better be because it is time for Allentown.