Vessel

The Vessel Drum and Bugle Corps is a competitive junior drum and bugle corps based in the Inland Empire of Southern California.

Nathaniel Lewis, Jr.  founded City Sound in Los Angeles in 1997 as an indoor winter drum line to provide teens and young adults "from diverse cultures" with performance opportunities that were lacking in many California schools.

The unit later moved to Long Beach, and, in 2010, added a horn line and color gusrd, transitioning into a full drum and bugle corps. The corps performed in Drum Corps International (DCI) contests exclusively in the State of California until venturing to Mesa, Arizona in the 2014 season. 

City Sound's drumline was featured on the Disney Channel's show, "Shake It Up" In November of 2012. As a Boy Scouts "Learning for Life" Explorer Post, City Sound earned the Boy Scouts of America's Character Education Quality Award in 2013. In 2013 and 2014, California State University Dominguez Hills allowed members of City Sound to receive college credit for one season of mrching.

Prior to the 2015 season, City Sound was having difficulty in finding a regular rehearsal base. The corps also announced that it had experienced extreme difficulty in recruiting brass players and would take the year off. During the down time, director Lewis admits to spending family time to the point that the hiatus extended to three years. 

After reorganizing, relocating to  the "Inland Empire" region of the Los Angeles suburbs, and renamng the corps, applicaton was made to DCI to return to active status. After an evaluation of the organization's finances, staffing, and plans by DCI's staff, Vessel was approved to compete in 2018.

The corps returned to the field in 2018, and in 2019 toured to Utah and Colorado.

The 2020 season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The corps was also inactive for the noncompetitive 2021 season, returning to the field in 2022.

On May 16, 2025, the corps announced that, "...a series of challenges--- including organizational stress and financial uncertainty--- have made it clear that dontinuing this season is not in the best interest of the corp or its members."

When the Troopers' food truck suffered a probable fatal breakdown in San Antonio, calls for help were directed to Vessel's staff, who quickly responded with a loan of the corps' food truck to complete the Troopers' 2025 season.

[Vessel Drum & Bugle Corps; Drum Corps International]

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