This is the last big weekend for coast-to-coast show choir, so sit back and enjoy it all!
FAME National Show Choir Finals (Branson, MO)
The Lineup
Mixed: Nevada “Soundsational Singers” (MO), Prattville “Spotlight” (AL), Sparta “Upstage Adrenaline” (WI), Tomah “Limited Edition” (WI)
Womens: Nevada “Treble Effects” (MO), Sparta “Rise of Adrenaline” (WI)
While this is one of the smaller National Finals fields in recent years and lacks the top-end punch of the 2023 National Finals, there are still several storylines to unpack in this year’s edition. Tomah headlines the field. Limited Edition has won three competitions so far this season and will look to shoot for a fourth (including the third different month they would win in). Sparta won its first-ever competition its last time out and will be hungry to even the score on its show choir neighbor. Nevada is a solid lower-division choir in Missouri with a finals appearance and division win to its name this year. Prattville has competed four times in three different states so far this season, with Nationals marking the fourth state in its competition tour. Spotlight also has a division win to its name this year, albeit in the small division. While more compact, the womens division also features an intriguing matchup that could go either way.
Jenks Trochella
The Lineup (groups from Oklahoma unless noted)
Mixed: Broken Arrow “Tiger Rhythm”, Carthage “Soundwave” (MO), Fort Worth Southwest “Southwest Effect” (TX), Joplin “Sound Dimension” (MO), Lexington “Southern Accents”
Prep: Broken Arrow “Tiger Momentum”, Cabool “Rhythm in Blue” (MO), El Dorado Springs “Sound Collage” (MO), Ferris “Yellowjacket Singers” (TX), Hugo “High Notes”, Mustang “Backstage Broncos”
Single-Gender: Broken Arrow “Tiger Mystique”, Carthage “Suite Sounds” (MO), Joplin “Touch of Class” (MO), Lexington “Pitch Slapped”, Lexington “Testostertones”
Jenks is back with another April contest after holding one last year around this time that was collectively dominated by Broken Arrow and Pleasant Hill. Several other contenders are in the mix here this time around. Of course, Broken Arrow remains the program to beat. However, the field gets much more interesting behind that. Carthage and Joplin are both western Missouri programs that have sliced and diced with the best of them in the region this year. Fort Worth Southwest was first in prelims at Rouse a few weeks ago. Lexington took an overall competition win at Hollister earlier this season. Assuming six finalists, multiple prep and/or single-gender groups will make finals, making for even more instability in what will be a massive shakeout of the heartland show choir scene.
John Burroughs Music Showcase
The Lineup (all groups from California)
Advanced Mixed I: Burbank “In Sync”, Los Alamitos “Sound FX”
Advanced Mixed II: Bonita Vista “The Music Machine”, Chaparral “Platinum FX”, Helix “HLX”
Intermediate Mixed: Carlsbad “Sound Express”, Golden Valley “Melodies of Gold”, Los Alamitos “Connexion”, Oceanside “Soundwaves”
Novice Mixed I: Apple Valley “SunSations”, Carlsbad “Purple Reign”, Esperanza “Reverberation”, Los Altos “LA Dynamix”, Martin Luther King “Legacy”, Monterey “Big Song”, Saugus “Blue Heat”, Western Sierra “The Alphas”
Novice Mixed II: Eisenhower “Ike Singers”, Granada Hills “G-Notes”, Valencia “Just 4 Show”
Advanced Womens: Burbank “Blue Impressions”, Los Alamitos “Soundtrax”
Intermediate Womens: Bonita Vista “Sound Unlimited”, Los Alamitos “Xquisite”, Oceanside “High Seas”
Novice Womens: Apple Valley “SunDevilaires”, Diamond Bar “Diamondtones”, Eisenhower “Ikettes”, Los Alamitos “Axcent”, Western Sierra “Sierra Serenade”
Mens: Helix “TBH”, Los Alamitos “Xtreme”
In any other competition circuit, Burroughs would be a phenomenal end-of-season extravaganza. In California, however, it’s only that for some choirs. For the remainder of the field, it’s a tune-up for an even bigger bash at Oceanside the following week. Los Alamitos and Burbank will face each other for the first time in 2024 in the top mixed and womens divisions. While Sound FX has garnered more attention nationally so far this year and In Sync dropped a caption to La Cueva earlier this year, it’s the California Big Three and anything can happen. Behind that division, Bonita Vista has beaten Helix head-to-head, who has beaten Chaparral head-to-head. The transitive property of show choir often fails, though. Novice divisions in both mixed and womens are more of a dartboard than anything else right now, with the respective winners earning massive bragging rights. Esperanza is riding a hot streak and may be the pick to go with in novice mixed.
North Carolina Show Choir State Contest
The Lineup (all groups from North Carolina)
Open: Hough “Howlin’ Huskies”, Lake Norman “Showformance”, Lee County “Show Choir”, South Granville “Chord on Blues”, South Granville “Shades of Blue”, West Brunswick “Harmony in Motion”, Voyager Academy “Bull City Lights”
The high school division of this year’s North Carolina State Contest only features seven groups following the late withdrawal of Red Springs. It is still slightly up from last year’s event, which saw five choirs compete for placements. Lee County is making its debut, and West Brunswick is back for the first time since 2022. Voyager has won each of the last three state show choir contests, and also has a head-to-head win against South Granville. Hough has also competed out-of-state this year, making appearances in both Virginia and West Virginia. Those three groups will likely compete for the top three spots. Of the groups who have not competed yet this year, expect Lake Norman to lead the pack and perhaps even challenge for a top-three spot from one of the frequent competitors.
From North Carolina to California, there is show choir going on all across the country this weekend. It’s the last time this will happen until January 2025, so enjoy the fleeting feeling and come right back to HomeRoom Show Choir following the weekend to find out what all went on!
Comments