By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief
The middle of February is here, which means that the last circuits to get going (California and Virginia) have started and the earliest circuits to wrap up (Iowa and Nebraska) are heading into the home stretch. All of this combines for a massive weekend with over 30 competitions and some of the best top-to-bottom fields of the season. Enjoy this expanded Comps of the Week column!
Center Grove Best of the Midwest
The Lineup (all groups from Indiana)
Large Mixed: Fishers “Electrum”, Franklin Central “F.C. Singers”, North Central “Counterpoints”, Zionsville “Royalaires”
Small Mixed: Batesville “Singers”, Cathedral “Adrenaline Rush”, Edgewood “Music Warehouse”, Franklin Central “Encores”, Kokomo “Karisma Singers”, Roncalli “Royal Rhapsody”
Large Womens: Fishers “Sound”, Franklin Central “High Voltage”, North Central “Descants”, Zionsville “Choralaires”
Small Womens: Cathedral “Irish Adrenaline”, Edgewood “Sophisticated Ladies”, Franklin Central “Flight”, North Central “Accents”
Best of the Midwest makes its first Comps of the Week appearance on the strength of both a top-heavy and bottom-heavy field. In the large mixed division, Franklin Central and North Central will see each other for the second consecutive week, with FC placing higher last weekend at Pike. Fishers is coming off a win at Anderson, and Zionsville is beginning their season. The showdown covers four of Indiana’s top ten choirs. In the large womens division, Fishers Sound is on upset watch after having vocals taken from them last week. High Voltage, Choralaires, and Descants are all capable groups – could Choralaires take another underdog win in the style of Wheaton last year? Small mixed will also see a big four-way fight between Roncalli, Cathedral, Edgewood, and Franklin Central’s prep group.
Chesterton Trojan Classic
The Lineup (groups from Indiana unless noted)
Large Mixed: Brandon “Brio” (MS), Carmel “Ambassadors”, Carroll “Magic”, Linn-Mar “10th Street Edition” (IA), Millard North “Infinity” (NE), Mt. Zion “Swingsations” (IL), Northrop “Charisma”
Medium Mixed: Alan B. Shepard “Nova” (IL), Danville “Delegation” (IL), Linn-Mar “In Step” (IA), Millard North “Intensity” (NE)
Small Mixed: Bishop Luers “Minstrels”, Bloomington “Amplitude”, Columbus East “Center Stage”, Norwell “Knight Moves”, Pike “Encores”
Large Single-Gender: Brandon “Bellas” (MS), Carmel “Accents”, Carroll “Select Sound”, Linn-Mar “Hi-Style” (IA), Millard North “Illumination” (NE), Mt. Zion “Les Femmes” (IA), Mt. Zion “You’ve Got Male” (IL), Northrop “Allure”, Westfield “Illumination”
Medium Single-Gender: Danville “Contemporaires” (IL), Pike ”Mystiques”
Small Single-Gender: Columbus East ”Serenade”, Danville ”Executives” (IL), Mother MacAuley ”Mac Melody” (IL), Norwell “Knight Stars”
In terms of “local nationals”, the diversity of travel seen in this lineup will be hard to top during this season. The seven large mixed groups hail from five different states, and with only five finalist spots in the division, prelims is a high-pressure round for every choir involved. Linn-Mar and Carmel will probably make finals, but both know the other will be aiming for the best performance of the season. The rest of the large mixed choirs stand in vastly different places. Brandon placed well in the Midwest last month, but their vocals have faltered at times and that could be a killer. Carroll is undefeated so far this season, but has not faced the caliber of competition that nearly every other group on this list has. Millard North has placed no higher than fourth so far this season, but has also been competing at some of the toughest Nebraska events of the year. Mt. Zion placed third last weekend in their first time out, placing some question marks as to their claim to finals here. Northrop, while perhaps not on the level of the other choirs here, took a nice step forward last weekend by beating Homestead. Two of the large mixed choirs will miss finals. Large single-gender is an even tighter battle, with only three finals spots up for grabs. Carmel will likely make the jump to finals, but a horde of groups will be chasing them down. Bellas and Les Femmes have already made overall finals this year. Westfield just took vocals off Fishers Sound last weekend. Select Sound has beaten groups like Los Alamitos in the past. Millard North and Hi-Style have both had solid seasons as well. Oh, and do this same thing again for medium/small – five mixed and three single-gender finalist spots there.
Homewood South Central Classic
The Lineup (groups from Alabama unless noted)
Large Mixed: Auburn “Varsity Singers”, Enterprise “Encores”, Northwest Rankin “The Ambassadors” (MS), Oak Mountain “Singers”, Petal “Soundsations” (MS), Spain Park “Rhapsody in Blue”, Wheaton Warrenville South “The Classics” (IL)
Middle Mixed: Albertville “CenterStage!”
Small Mixed: Pell City “Showstoppers”, Prattville “Spotlight”
Womens: Albertville “CenSations!”, Auburn “Elan”, Enterprise ”Esprit”, Northwest Rankin ”The Allure” (MS), Oak Mountain ”The Muses”, Petal ”Innovations” (MS), Wheaton Warrenville South ”Esprit”
Mens: Auburn “Men at Work”, Northwest Rankin “The Ambition” (MS)
Every once in a while, a southern competition draws a lineup staggeringly big on the top end that it beings to feel like an Avengers movie. Save for Homewood, who is hosting, the only Alabama large mixed group not in attendance is Opelika. Oak Mountain will hit the competition stage for the first time. Auburn has already won so far this year, Spain Park is looking very sporty in its first year as a large group, and Enterprise is working through a director change. Add to the mix two Mississippi groups. Northwest Rankin has done more by doing less this year, putting out a very fundamentally solid show. Petal cleaned up at the Mississippi Contest two weeks ago and is surely already looking towards attending Show Choir Nationals. Wheaton Warrenville South makes the trip down from Illinois as well. Despite placing third at their only competition so far this year, Classics have found success in previous southern trips and should be right in the mix for the overall win. The womens division is absolutely nuts, featuring seven groups. Again, some of the top players should include Wheaton Warrenville South, Oak Mountain, and Petal.
Neosho The Sho
The Lineup (groups from Missouri unless noted)
6A: Jenks “Trojanaires” (OK)
5A: Carthage “Soundwave”, Joplin “Sound Dimension”, Rock Bridge “City Lights”, Troy Buchanan “Express”, Webb City “Singers”
4A: McDonald County “Rhapsody ‘N Rhyhm”, Nevada “Soundsational Singers”, Troy Buchanan “Soundwave”
3A: East Newton “Patriot Singers”, El Dorado Springs “Sound Collage”, Hollister “Blue Harmony”, Mt. Vernon “Vocal Motion”, Seneca “Starstruck”
Womens: Carthage “Suite Sounds”, Jenks “Trojan Spirit” (OK), Joplin “Touch of Class”, Nevada “Treble Effects”, Webb City “Bella Voce”
Mens: Jenks “Airemen” (OK), Webb City “DoMENance”
Neosho’s inaugural competition last year was quite the success, featuring several of the top groups in the region. For their follow-up act, they secured the return of all six finalists from the 2024 edition. Is there a chance that the results stay entirely the same from last season? Troy Buchanan swept all three major captions last year, but Express is a new-look group after going through a change in leadership. Jenks, last year’s second-place group, already has two podium placements this season. Webb City, last year’s third-place group, already has two wins! Carthage, last year’s fourth-place group, is having another season where they consistently make finals. The two Joplin groups filled out last year’s finals. While they’ve only competed once, both groups made finals at Mt. Vernon, meaning it’s entirely possible here as well. Who will look to upset the returning finalists? Both Webb City single-gender groups have made finals multiple times so far this season. Nevada Treble Effects have also made some noise this season, and Rock Bridge will look for a turnaround in fortune after not making finals at their last competition.
Olentangy Keynote Classic
The Lineup (groups from Ohio unless noted)
Large Mixed: Beavercreek “Friends”, Findlay “First Edition”, Grove City “Touch of Class”, Homestead “Class Royale” (IN), Loveland “By Request”, Marysville “Swingers Unlimited”
Small Mixed: Elgin “Energizers”, Milton-Union “Center Stage”, Ravenswood “Rave Revue” (WV), River Vallet “Music Company”, Whitehall-Yearling “Music Unlimited”
Womens: Grove City “Class Act”, Homestead “Elite” (IN), Loveland “Allure”, Marysville “Swingers Select”
If Ohio was crazy last week, it’s about to get just as crazy this week. Marysville’s win streak sits at four competitions, but it will be seriously put to the test. Grove City has also been on a tear the past two years, and it’s the first time Findlay will hit the stage this season. Beavercreek popped off last week, placing second in prelims at Loveland. Friends cannot be counted out of the conversation either. By Request has had a tough season so far, but shows can come alive at any point during the season. Homestead, likewise, did not have the weekend that they wanted to last weekend, and a placement ahead of any of the Ohio large mixed choirs would be a big step forward for them as a program this season. Nobody in small mixed has come close to winning a division title this season, which means that this is a huge opportunity for someone to claim what will be a crowning achievement for the season. In the womens division, Marysville Swingers Select will face arguably the toughest test of their young career, facing potent and capable groups in Grove City and Loveland.
Urbandale Show Choir Invitational
The Lineup (groups from Iowa unless noted)
Mixed: Broken Arrow “Tiger Rhythm” (OK), Johnston “Innovation”, Millard West “West in the Groove” (NE), Mitchell “Friend de Coup” (SD), Waukee “Millennium”, Waukee Northwest “Eos”
Womens: Broken Arrow “Tiger Mystique”, Johnston “Bella Voce”, Millard West “Uptown”
Prep: Johnston “Synergy”, Millard West “Swing Cats”, Waukee “Spirit”, Waukee Northwest “Aurora”
9th Grade: Johnston “Sound Advice”, Waukee Timberline “Inferno”
If Chesterton wasn’t happening this weekend, Urbandale would be stealing most of the headlines. A collection of superpowers will take the stage in mid-Iowa for a competition that will not have a down performance all day. All six varsity groups are champion-level groups wherever they go. All three of the Iowa groups are in the thick of their seasons and have several accolades to their name. For Millard West and Mitchell, this is competition number two of the season. These two groups saw each other at Omaha Westside, where WIG won with vocals and band and FDC took choreo. It is also competition number two for Broken Arrow, who cleaned out Joplin last week and enters a gauntlet this week that includes trips to Minnesota, Texas, and California before the season is over. Waukee Northwest has a head-to-head win over Johnston, taking vocals and choreo at Linn-Mar on January 18. It’s hard to believe, but this will be the first matchup ever between Waukee and Waukee Northwest. Eos has not seen Millennium in the three-plus seasons of competition. In a less loaded competition, that would be the top storyline, but here, it’s just one more crazy fact.
That was a lot! After the glitter and sequins have been swept from the stage, find all the analysis and reflection right here early next week.