Southeast Preview 10/1
Welcome to the Southeast Preview!
This week's preview will be shorter than the other regions due to many show cancellations or postponements due to the effects of Hurricane Ian.
The Carolinas are currently experiencing the Remnants of Ian, so most shows there either have already or are anticipated to be canceled.
In Florida, the Seminole Sound Spectacular and the University Classic have been called, with the University Classic announcing two alternate days. One will be on October 15th, and the other on November 12th. The Falcon Sound Invitational, hosted by Flanagan (FL), will proceed as scheduled. A couple of the programs to keep an eye on there will be West Broward (FL) and Stoneman Douglas (FL). Both are best known for their excellent WGI Guard programs; however, they are two of the top bands in the state. Stoneman Douglas will even be making the trip to Indy this year for BOA Grand Nationals, so this will be a good measuring stick to figure out how much the program has recovered since COVID hit. Find more information here!
Going to Georgia, many schools are on fall break. However, for those that aren’t, there is the Valhalla Classic in Newnan, hosted by Northgate (GA). They have had some excellent programs attend in the past. Two that may be familiar to veterans of BOA shows in the area will be Ola (GA) and East Coweta (GA), both former BOA Atlanta Super Regional Finalists. You can find more information here!
Moving over to Alabama, there are a plethora of band competitions this weekend, but the one we will highlight is the Trussville Marching Invitational. This show is in Trussville, Alabama, right on the outskirts of Birmingham. Many of these ensembles tend to stay within Alabama, however, one notable group that will be here is Muscle Shoals (AL) who are one of the strongest groups in WinteInternational's Concert Percussion division, having won World Class in 2011, as well as Open in 2009 as well as 2022. You will find more information as well as the schedule for this show right here.
About 3 hours north of Trussville, Franklin (TN) will be hosting their Sonic Boom! competition, which features some of the strongest programs in the Nashville metropolitan area, such as Ravenwood (TN), Siegel (TN), as well as the hosts. Quite a few of the competitors were at BOA Clarksville a couple of weeks back, and it will be fascinating to see how much each has improved since then. Information is available at https://thefranklinband.org/posts/sonic-boom/.
Finally, our last show is in the Southeast but features many excellent programs from the Heartland as well. Deep in the southern hills of the Ozarks will be the Bentonville Invitational, hosted at Bentonville High School in northern Arkansas. As a well-known and highly awarded group, the Bentonville (AR) Pride attracts several competitive bands each year, with this year’s selections including Blue Valley (KS), Kickapoo (MO), and sister school Bentonville West (AR) all vying for one title. Information on the weekend’s contest can be found here.
Saturday Night Lights is currently GEM’s Managing Editor. He has been involved in the Pageantry Arts for over a decade, as a performer at the highest level, an instructor, and a fan. You can find him on Twitter at @SatNightLites. He currently lives in Florida with his partner and their two dogs.
Hattie Bartlett is an experienced marching arts content creator making her writing debut with GEM. As a former member of the color guard, she has traveled across the country covering events with WGI and Box5, as well as informally commentating via HornRank. Hattie is currently on staff at the University of Missouri as a field photographer and communications intern. She can be found on Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok as @ilikeguard.