By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief
Groups from large to small tussle in Alabama, Midwest power players gather in Minnesota, Nebraska sees a large rematch from mid-January, and the community gets a first look at a Nic Caberos-led Mitchell.
Albertville Diamond Classic
The Lineup (groups from Alabama unless noted)
Large Mixed: Donelson Christian “Legacy” (TN), Enterprise “Encores”, Homewood “The Network”, Opelika “Ovations”
Middle Mixed: Helena “High Frequency”, Homewood “The Network”, Hoover “Paradigm”, Jasper “Phoenix”, Tift County “Eighth Street Singing Company” (GA), Vestavia Hills “Singers”
Small Mixed: Chelsea “Out of the Blue”, Cleveland “Renaissance” (TN), North Paulding “EnChorus” (GA), Pell City “Showstoppers”, Prattville “Spotlight”, Rome “Grand Finale” (GA)
Single-Gender: Enterprise “Encores”, Homewood “Nexus”, Tift County “Ladies Choice” (GA), Tift County “Tiftosterone” (GA)
Expanded Preview: Feb. 1st Southern Show Choir Preview
Large mixed is somehow the least compelling storyline here. While all four of these groups are debuting their shows, Homewood will be the likely winner. Behind them, Enterprise is in its first competition under new direction, Donelson Christian is in its first competition as a large mixed group after competing in middle mixed last year, and Opelika is there as well. Middle mixed features all four of the middle mixed groups that were at Tallassee last weekend, where Hoover came out in a tight battle over Tift and Vestavia in Class A and Helena was in an uncontested Class B. Add in a potent Jasper and a hungry Homewood Continuum, and all six groups have a realistic pathway to first. Small mixed features a Chelsea group who took an upstart division win at Tallassee last weekend, plus a growing Prattville program, a pair of Georgia contenders in Rome and North Paulding, plus Cleveland from Tennessee and Pell City. Tift County’s single-gender groups will face off against each other, battling for program supremacy, and also girls groups from Enterprise and Homewood.
Bloomington Kennedy Gold
The Lineup (groups from Minnesota unless noted)
Mixed: Bemidji “Vocalmotive”, Bloomington Jefferson “Jefferson Connection”, Hastings “Riverside Company”, La Crosse “River City Revolution” (WI), Waconia “Power Company”, Wheaton Warrenville South “The Classics” (IL)
Womens: Aspire “Momentum”, Bemidji “La Voce Ballo“, Bloomington Jefferson “Jive“, Hastings “Dynamic Edition“, Waconia “The Current“, Wheaton Warrenville South “Esprit” (IL)
Bloomington Kennedy’s lineup is never the biggest of the year, but it certainly punches above its size. Minnesota’s top two groups, Hastings and Waconia, both enter the competition looking to definitively turn a corner in their season. Riverside has only one competition under its belt, a fourth at Gretna, while Waconia broke through to the win column in a split-caption decision over Chesterton last weekend. Bloomington Jefferson, a sleeper top-five group in the state, was third last week at West Branch and will come home for the first time this season. Wheaton Warrenville South, fresh off last year’s show choir court show, is locked and loaded with another year of Chris Miller at director and Dwight Jordan at choreographer. Classics will look to impress here before heading to Alabama in two weeks. Bemidji is also debuting its show for the year and will look for growth in year number two under Gunner Aas. Don’t count out La Crosse, either – River City Revolution has grown steadily in its first year as a combined outfit and won its last competition over Troy Buchanan. In the womens division, Esprit has a cracking chance at finals, but they would have to upset an established varsity group. Aspire, a community group in the eastern Twin Cities metro, will also bring its show choir to a competition for the first time ever at Gold.
Lincoln East Spartan Spectacular
The Lineup (groups from Nebraska unless noted)
Mixed: Elkhorn South “Blackout”, Gretna East “Equinox”, Lincoln “Chain Reaction”, Lincoln Northwest “First Class”, Norris “Gold”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titanium”, Pius X “Spectrum”, St. Thomas Aquinas “Swingin’ Saints” (KS)
Womens: Elkhorn South “Shockwave”, Norris “Titanaires”, Papillion-La Vista South ”Titan Radiance”, Pius X ”Prism”, St. Thomas Aquinas ”Saintsations” (KS)
Prep: Elkhorn South “Power Surge”, Lincoln “Momentum”, Norris “68th Street Singers”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titan Express”
This field looks awfully similar to the field at Gretna two weeks ago, doesn’t it? The first, second, and third place groups from there are all here, plus Norris, who didn’t make finals at Gretna but came roaring back to win at Hastings last weekend over Gretna East. Equinox remains one of the biggest wildcards of this show choir season – will they continue to be an overnight sensation for the entire season? Papio South and Elkhorn South both seem to be on the verge of breaking out, and either of them could take a resounding win here as well. Pius took a gigantic step forward as a program last year and will look to really mix it up with a handful of competitive groups to start off their 2025 season. The womens division will be a battle of titans between the Norris Titanaires and Papio South Titan Radiance.
Wildcard: Omaha Westside Competition of Excellence
The Lineup (groups from Nebraska unless noted)
Mixed: Bellevue East “Take II”, Grand Island “Ultimate Image”, Lincoln Southwest “Resonance”, Millard West “West in the Groove”, Mitchell “Friend de Coup” (SD), Valley “Choralation” (IA)
Womens: Grand Island “Sweet Revelation”, Marian “Momentum”, Mercy “Treblemakers”, Millard West “Uptown”
Prep: Grand Island “Future Image”, Lincoln Southwest “Ambience”, Millard West “Swing Cats”, Valley “Ignition” (IA)
Full Preview: Westside Hosts Top-Tier Talent From All Over Nebraska
The long-awaited debut of Mitchell under the direction of Nic Caberos is here. Following Nick McGraw’s final show (and a great corn-themed show at that), a new era of Friend de Coup has arrived. Caberos, who previously honed his directing skills by bringing Lincoln Northeast its most prosperous years in program history, has large shoes to fill. Millard West is also debuting its show for the season after hosting Music Lives last season. Lincoln Southwest is coming off a split-caption win over Gretna at Standing Bear last week, Rez’s second win of the season. Valley was previously third to Ankeny Centennial and Indianola at Waukee, claiming Best Band per the usual. Grand Island has also done well for itself so far this season, taking third behind Norris and Gretna East at Hastings this past week. Bellevue East, under the new direction of David Growth, could take the sixth finals spot, although it would be a big step forward for them as a program. Millard West Uptown would likely be the odds-on favorite to take the sixth finalist spot, although Ignition or Ambience could challenge for that as well.
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