The great groups coalesce at the end of the season to battle it out… and battles were certainly had this past week!
Franklin Central Hoosier Show Choir Classic
The Hoosier Classic will be covered in-depth in an upcoming piece!
Keller Central Lone Star Invitational Final Results
GC: Broken Arrow “Tiger Rhythm” (BV/BC)
1RU: Keller “Blue Lights”
2RU: LD Bell “The Bell System”
3RU: Broken Arrow “Tiger Mystique”
4RU: Fort Worth Southwest “Southwest Effect”
5RU: Timber Creek “Aerodynamix”
Another LSI has passed, and with that, another trophy goes back to Broken Arrow. It is beginning to become routine at this point, as Tiger Rhythm has claimed each of the past three years. Broken Arrow is now two-for-two this year, having previously swept the Joplin In the Spotlight Invitational at the beginning of the month. Behind them, Keller evened the score on L.D. Bell for the year after a similar tight battle at North Texas. Regardless of the placings, Bell System and Blue Lights established themselves as the top two show choirs in Texas this year. Coming in fourth was Tiger Mystique, who returned to finals in 2024 after missing in 2023. Fourth was one spot higher than Mystique was when they appeared in 2022’s finals. Fort Worth Southwest notched a solid placement in their first in-state appearance of the year, also upping their previous placement (sixth at Omaha South). Timber Creek snuck in there as the last finalist, beating a whole host of hungry Texas groups – Fossil Ridge, Arlington, Legacy, Rouse, Texas City, Southlake Carroll, Burleson and Arlington Heights, among others.
Norris Fields of Talent Final Results
GC: Lincoln East “Express” (BV)
1RU: Ankeny Centennial “Spectrum” (BC)
2RU: Lincoln Southwest “Resonance”
3RU: Papillion-La Vista South “Titanium” (BB)
4RU: Papillion-La Vista “Free Spirit”
5RU: Ankeny Centennial “Vortex”
There were some questions at the beginning of the season regarding the speed of the Express train this year – their old head director, Aaron Zart, left for Missouri. It is clear, however, that Lincoln East is moving at right near the speed of sound this year. After a signature sweep of Mitchell and Lincoln Southwest to kick off February, Express closed the month with a split-caption win over Iowa powerhouse Ankeny Centennial and crosstown choir Lincoln Southwest. Lisabeth Wissink appears primed to be the next in a long line of standout Lincoln East directors, following Zart and current Hastings College professor Brett Epperson. Spectrum finishes their season right in the thick of the competition, and taking a caption at their first time in Nebraska is a solid showing. Lincoln Southwest, while third, still has a lot going for them, and they will recharge for a week before heading to Wheaton, Illinois. Titanium took four captions, including their second Best Band award this year. Free Spirit rounded out its first season under new directors, and Vortex nabbed yet another finals appearance in their first year as Ankeny Centennial’s second overall group.
Petal Show Choir Invitational Final Results
GC: Clinton “Attaché” (BV/BC/Show Design)
1RU: Grenada “Visions”
2RU: Brandon “Brio”
3RU: Enterprise “Encores”
4RU: West Jones “Imagination”
Any lingering doubts that may have been hanging over Clinton, even midway through the season, are gone. Clinton has now beat most major southern show choirs, and they have done so in convincing fashion. Grenada is one of the hottest groups in the south right now, and Clinton came out above them in all categories. Visions continues to get better as the season goes on, and they will go for another win at Madison Central this weekend. Enterprise is another group that has been pleasantly surprising this year. Despite a couple of director changes after the pandemic, Encores has found a way to continually be a top-three group in Alabama and is always challenging groups that seem to be above it. West Jones oscillates between smaller and larger competitions throughout the course of the year, and they made finals at a big show here over Biloxi, Jackson Prep, and a host of middle mixed and small mixed choirs.
Hastings Swingin’ on the River Final Results
GC: Wheaton Warrenville South “The Classics” (BC/BB)
1RU: Urbandale “Studio” (BV)
2RU: Bloomington Kennedy “Rhythm in Gold”
3RU: Omaha South “The Ambassadors”
4RU: Bloomington Jefferson “Jefferson Connection”
5RU: Tomah “Limited Edition”
Hastings drew such a deep finals field that it honestly doesn’t even feel like a wildcard competition. Of the six finalists groups, five different states – Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin – were represented. Wheaton Warrenville South is plugging along to another season of being a contender that is viable on a national level. Studio rounded out its competition season by grabbing its second Best Vocals caption of the year and continuing an eight-competition streak of finishing in the top two spots. Bloomington Kennedy led a horde of choirs capable of making noise, with Omaha South proving that success in Nebraska does translate to success in other circuits. Bloomington Jefferson was only third or fifth this year across all of its competitions, but making finals all year long was a step forward for Connection. Tomah rounds out its regular season by proving that the wins in Wisconsin aren’t a fluke, and that it can contend with choirs from all over.
The season gets even crazier for a couple more weeks, which means that Comps of the Week will be right there to chronicle it!
Where's that FC recap?