Indianapolis, Indiana – For the Super Regional Bands of America Marching Band Championship, high school students from 84 bands representing nine states competed on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium. For a chance to go to the grand nationals, they are competing on Friday, October 21, and Saturday, October 22 in preliminary and final rounds.
Competing marching bands come from states including Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and even Indiana. The competition will be judged by a group of marching band specialists and nationally renowned music instructors. The top 14 scoring bands from Thursday will compete in Saturday’s evening finals.
“My kids love coming to this event. Bands of America does such a great job organizing everything. From the world class facilities to the world class judges that we have, and the parents get a big kick out of it too,” Tim Cox, Decatur Central High School band director, said. “We’ve been practicing since the beginning of June. Band camp starts with auditions and drum majors mid May, and the kids start practicing in June. We’re very blessed being an Indianapolis school. We get a lot of support from our communities, a lot of support from our administrators, and we have the best band parents in the world.”
Indiana schools that are competing are: Snider, Lafayette Jefferson, Greenfield-Central, Scottsburg, Homestead, Decatur Central, Lewis Cass, Ben Davis, Hamilton Southeastern, Edgewood, Warsaw Community, William Henry Harrison, Jasper, Westfield, Greenwood Community, Noblesville, Warren Central, Taylor, Owen Valley, Beech Grove, Forest Park Jr./Sr., Norwell, Castle, Goshen, Columbia City, Galesburg, Terre Haute South Vigo, Monrovia, Franklin Central, Brownsburg, Southport, Franklin Community, Lawrence Township, Avon, Center Grove, Carmel, Western, Pendleton Heights, Plainfield, Fishers, and Lake Central high schools.
The American Bands One of 26 Bands of America marching band championships taking place around the nation this fall is the Indianapolis Super Regional Championship. For the Grand National Championships, which take place Nov. 10–12, the event will return to Lucas Oil Stadium. Grand Nationals will feature exhibition performances by the Ohio University Marching 110, the University of North Alabama Marching Pride of North Alabama, and the Western Carolina University Pride of the Mountains Marching Band in addition to 95 high school bands from 20 states competing.
On Wednesday night, a session featuring music students and instructors from Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) will serve as the Grand National Championships event’s opening act. The Indianapolis Public Schools Music Showcase will feature a special performance by IPS band, orchestra, and choir students during the Grand National Championships Prelims.
