By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief
Welcome to March! Iowa hits the unofficial end to the big-school season this week, most others are in crunch time for their season, and California, Virginia, and New England are just hitting their stride. This leads to some of the most all-around diverse lineup weekends of the year.
Norris Fields of Talent
The Lineup (groups from Nebraska unless noted)
Large School: Grand Island Northwest “14 Karat Gold”, Gretna “Revolution”, Gretna East “Equinox”, Lincoln East “Express”, Urbandale “Studio” (IA)
Small School: Harrisonville “Music Makers” (MO), Plattsmouth “Out of the Blue”, Seward “Gold Dynamics”
Womens: Lincoln East “Elegance”, Seward “Blue Harmony”, Urbandale “Affinity” (IA)
Prep: Grand Island Northwest “Bella Voce”, Gretna “Evolution”, Urbandale “Vitality” (IA)
This one is for all the marbles as the last big competition in the Lincoln area for the season… and there’s only one local group there. There appears to be a breakaway top three. Gretna has dropped only one caption all season and is rounding into prime late-season Revolution form. Gretna East has not competed since February 1, but they also have not dropped a vocals or choreo caption so far this season. It will be the first meeting between these two show choirs, and the winner gets extra bragging rights – Gretna director Katelyn Wallace and Gretna East director Nathan Wallace are wife and husband. Studio cleaned up at its most recent competition and will close their season here, adding extra motivation. Lincoln East and Grand Island Northwest have been tight earlier this season, so strides in either show will not go unrewarded. Harrisonville is the favorite to win the small school division and is a great candidate to make finals, which would extend their finals streak to six competitions. Their main competitor will be Gretna Evolution, who has made finals multiple times this year and placed as high as third. There is a strong family aspect in this battle as well – Kip Mathew, Harrisonville’s director, is the father of Dakota Mathew, Evolution’s director.
For a Full Preview: The Fields Come Alive with Talent at Norris
Liberty Storm the Stage
The Lineup (groups from Iowa unless noted)
Mixed: Bettendorf “Surround Sound”, Cedar Rapids Kennedy “Happiness, Inc.”, Cedar Rapids Washington “Momentum”, Davenport West “West Connection”, Linn-Mar “10th Street Edition”, Prairie “The Ambassadors”, Raymore-Peculiar “Rush” (MO), Waukee “Millennium”
Prep: Cedar Rapids Washington “Celebration”, Davenport West “Harmonics”, Prairie “Focal Point”, Waukee “Spirit”
For an inaugural competition in a state that is bursting at the seams with show choir contests, Liberty has assembled quite the lineup. Linn-Mar will most likely put the closing touches on another undefeated season, barring an incredible performance from another entrant. Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Waukee have both done very well for themselves during the month of February – they will look to extend the magic to March. Prairie is a group that has not been as strong as of late than they were in January, but should still factor into the finals conversation. Cedar Rapids Washington has had an up-and-down year, and Momentum will look to stay true to its name to close out the season. The sixth finalist spot will likely go to either Bettendorf, a group that was fourth at Pella last weekend, or Waukee Spirit, an ensemble that notched fifth overall at Ankeny Centennial earlier this season.
For a Full Preview: A Late-Season Meetup for Iowa’s Best
Totino-Grace Show Choir Spectacular
The Lineup (groups from Minnesota unless noted)
Large School: Bemidji “Vocalmotive”, Bloomington Jefferson “Jefferson Connection”, Broken Arrow “Tiger Rhythm” (OK), Davenport North “Northside Establishment” (IA), Eau Claire North “Northernaires” (WI), Hastings “Riverside Company”, North St. Paul “Northern Lights”, Omaha South “The Ambassadors” (NE)
Small School: Altoona “Locomotion” (WI), Colby “The Coalition” (WI), New Prague “Emotion”
Womens: Aspire “Momentum”, Bemidji “La Voce Ballo”, Bloomington Jefferson “Jive”, Broken Arrow “Tiger Mystique” (OK), Davenport North “Center Stage” (IA), Hastings “Dynamic Edition”, Omaha South “Amplify” (NE)
Once again, Totino has assembled a lineup for Spectacular seemingly gathered from the four corners of the earth. Hastings has run Minnesota show choir this year, while Bemidji and Bloomington Jefferson have had some tight swaps in the back half of finals. Broken Arrow was most recently right in the thick of it at Urbandale, and they will bring everything they’ve got to Minnesota. Davenport North is coming off a win last weekend; Northside Establishment is one of the hotter groups at this competition. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Omaha South has not competed since Feb. 8. However, The Ambassadors surprised a lot of people in their first three competitions of the year and are probably in line to surprise some Minnesotans this weekend. North St. Paul and Eau Claire North have both made multiple finals this year but will be outgunned by larger programs. Oh, and Cedar Rapids Kennedy was initially signed up for this competition before switching to Liberty.
Wildcard: Glenwood The Event
The Lineup (groups from Illinois unless noted)
Championship Mixed: Brownsburg “Spotlight Singers & Company” (IN), Huntley “Harmonics”, Jackson Academy “Encore” (MS), Marquette “Center Stage” (MO), Milton “Choralation” (WI), Mt. Zion “Swingsations”, Naperville North “Entourage”, Quincy “Electric Blue”, Wheaton Warrenville South “The Classics”
Festival Mixed: Brownsburg “Bella Voce” (IN), Herscher “Class Act”, Highland “Dissonance”, Pekin “Noteables”, Peoria “Soundwave”
Single-Gender: Brownsburg “Starlight Voices” (IN), Homewood “Nexus” (AL), Milton “Octave Above” (WI), Mt. Zion “Les Femmes”, Mt. Zion “You’ve Got Male”, Naperville North “Vivant”, Wheaton Warrenville South “Esprit”
Yet another geographically-spread lineup appears to be one of the best in the nation. The one program coming into this competition with serious momentum is Wheaton Warrenville South, as Classics swept at El Paso last weekend and Esprit was fourth overall. Brownsburg Spotlight Singers is coming off a baffling finals miss at Homestead but should be a shoo-in for finals at Glenwood. Bella Voce won the womens finals at Homestead and are a strong bet to repeat here. Entourage was third at El Paso, while Vivant beat Les Femmes. Mt. Zion had a down day on the whole last weekend, and this competition will be crucial for them to shake it off in the midseason. Nexus fell to the Oak Mountain Muses (a group originally supposed to be at this competition) last week. Toss in a sneaky-solid Marquette, an improving Milton, a new-look Jackson Academy, and there’s plenty of chaos to go around. Glenwood is going Indiana-style with finals, offering five bids for mixed groups and three bids for single-gender groups.
For a Full Preview: Several States Vie for Eight Finals Spots at Glenwood
The dust may take a bit to settle from results that are sure to be newsworthy in one way or another. All the key takeaways will be right here in Comps of the Week Recap.