Welcome Back Y'all!: A 2025 Southern Show Choir Preview

By Tony Holeman, Southern contributor

When it comes to storylines, you could not ask for more than what we got in the South during the 2024 show choir competition Season. You had the almighty Clinton once again atop the hierarchy. You had a historical program reborn with the passing of the torch at Homewood. You had a traveler in Brandon, competing in a total of three different states. You had a resurgence at Grenada, giving us their best show ever. You had crazy upsets from the likes of Jackson Academy and Auburn. You even had groups claiming their first-ever Grand Championship and small division programs making the top three at finals. No matter where you looked in the South, something was happening, and things happened at a rapid pace every weekend.

As amazing as the 2024 season was, however, all good things must come to an end. With that being said, it’s worth remembering an old-time quote: “When one door closes, another door opens.” That other door is the 2025 season, which seems to hold just as much potential as the year before (if not more). Follow along below to start following some of the storylines to watch this upcoming 2025 southern show choir season.

What’s Changed?

• Jacob Butzin: Former Ross High School assistant director and Brandon Middle School director Jacob Butzin has been handed the reins at Jackson Academy following the departure of Garrett Lindsey. His Midwest background and recent exposure to Brandon’s extremely southern-esque style should lead to interesting results this upcoming season for Jackson Academy.

• Christina Herring: A legacy hire from their own program, Enterprise High School is bringing in alumni Christina Herring to hopefully bring back a spark to a program that hasn’t seen monumental success in nearly two decades (excluding an asterisk year in 2021).

• Kristy Brumfield: Former Jackson Prep director Kristy Brumfield is being brought in to help lead this next competition season for Madison Central. During her brief tenure at Jackson Prep, she helped create their “Art Thief” show, a performance that is considered one of the most underrated shows in the recent history of southern show choir.

• Retirements: After a long and successful career spanning time at Albertville and Tift County, Rains retired at the close of the 2023-2024 school year. Kyle Robinson moved up from assistant director to head director at Tift County. Similarly, Michael Bird and Kelley Hill have both left Tallassee. Tift County alum Becca Jones and Oak Mountain alum Christian Lester now head Tallassee's three-group program.

• Dallas James Pritt: The lone choreographer on this list, Dallas James Pritt has an extensive history with many other groups, but the main focus with him here is between Oxford and West Marion. After choreographing for Oxford for the last 7 years (8 counting this upcoming season), West Marion has decided to hire him and try to catch up to the recent small division powerhouse that is Oxford.

• New Groups: Biloxi will debut a womens group, Sound Sirens, this year. Pike Road, a very new program in its own right, will also debut a womens group. Panache will first hit the stage at Tallassee.

Who’s On The Rise?

• Grenada "Visions":  Last year was likely the best and most successful year in the entirety of Grenada’s program history. Between two Grand Championships and a First Runner-Up placement at Show Choir Nationals, Grenada is HOT. Simply put, what’s hotter than hot?

• Oak Mountain "Singers": After a consistent last few years of being competitive at the higher levels, Oak Mountain seems to be a stable threat in the South no matter where they go. With this kind of positive consistency, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Oak Mountain take its next step this upcoming season.

• South Jones "Company": No one has done a better job rebuilding a group than Austin Perkins. After taking over a historical program in South Jones during the pandemic shutdown, Perkins has quietly developed his group year after year, and the results speak for themselves, placing in finals at most of their competitions this past year as a Middle Division group after not winning their division once just three years ago. If you’re not already on the Austin Perkins train, there’s no better time to hop aboard.

• Northwest Rankin "The Allure": Arguably the most improved group from 2023 to 2024, Northwest Rankin The Allure turned a lot of heads this past season with some of their placements. The Allure gained some credibility in their second year of existence with their first division win, a finals placement, and a win over an impressive treble group in Brandon Bellas. This track record gives lots of hope for a group entering just their third year ever.

Who Has Something To Prove?

• Oak Mountain "Singers": While they may be one of the groups on the rise, it doesn’t mean Oak Mountain doesn’t have some question marks of their own. Their biggest issue these last few years has been their struggle to beat other top-notch southern groups. This has led to many believing that Oak Mountain cannot be considered a top contender, especially in their own region, until they change this trend. Oak Mountain needs to prove they can fight in their own weight class.

• Petal "Soundsations" and "Innovations": For a very historical program, Petal had an arguably disappointing season this last year for both their mixed and treble group. For Soundsations, there was an absence of dominance anywhere they went - their only Grand Championship against other groups their size was a narrow victory against Keller Central where they still lost the vocals caption. For Innovations, there was one lone division win at the same competition where they would have a separate treble group top them in finals. Petal needs to prove that last season's struggles were a fluke and they are still the top dog in the South that they are used to being.

• Biloxi "Sound Surge": While winning their first Grand Championship title is a milestone that any group should be proud of regardless of status, Biloxi needs to prove they can repeat this feat against larger groups, as their first-ever Grand Championship from this last season was only against one middle division group and five small division groups. Biloxi needs to prove they belong in their division.

  
  

• Tift County "Eighth Street Singing Company": Tift County’s mixed group, “Eighth Street Singing Company”, has the same problem that Biloxi has (arguably on a longer-term scale though) in the fact they just seem to not win against equal or similar leveled competition. They even lost what would have been their lone Grand Championship this past season to their own womens group. Tift County needs to prove they can win.

What Competitions Are Looking Good?

Feb. 1 - Jackson Academy Show Choir Invitational: Arguably the most entertaining and competitive competition over the last few years, JASI 2025 is set to continue the trend. While the main focus will be on Grenada and Tupelo, there are also a handful of contenders who seek to upset the aforementioned groups, like Madison Central and Northwest Rankin.

Feb. 8 - Oak Mountain King of the Mountain Invitational: In its first year back since the 2021 season, this competition looks to be a great one. Not only is there an in-state bout between two juggernauts, Auburn and Homewood (where the latter looks to get revenge after last year), but you throw in a hot out-of-state group in Grenada and you have a three-way heavyweight bout going down in Birmingham this February.

Feb. 15 - Homewood South Central Classic: Just one week after Oak Mountain’s exciting competition, there is what seems to be an exact repeat. In-state juggernauts Oak Mountain and Auburn compe against each other and a potent out-of-state program Petal brings something to the mix as well. 

Mar. 1 - Glenwood The Event: While this is not a southern competition, it’s worth marking this down for southern show choir connoisseurs to keep an eye on. Both Jackson Academy and Oak Mountain will be taking their respective groups up to Illinois to compete against groups from all over the Midwest. Homewood will also be taking their girls group Nexus to compete here as well.

Mar. 8 - Mt. Zion Midwest Invitational: Another non-southern competition is being listed here, but with good reason. Both Brandon and Grenada will be heading up to Illinois just a week after Oak Mountain and Jackson Academy to take on the likes of Center Grove, Glenwood, Loveland, Troy Buchannan, and Wheaton Warrenville South to name a few. It will be a bloodbath in the Midwest come March 8th, and two of the South’s best will be right in the middle of it. Spain Park will also be there, and they will battle in the prep division.

What Else?

Although it doesn't fit anywhere else, it's worth mentioning the division changes for the South (specifically Mississippi) this upcoming year. The Mississippi Show Choir Directors Association has agreed upon the following changes regarding tiers and group sizes for this upcoming 2025 competition season:

• Tier Names: X-Large will now be called 4A, Large will now be called 3A, Middle will now be called 2A, and Small will now be called 1A.

• Tier Size Requirements: 1A will include groups with 22 or fewer performers, 2A will include groups with 23-36 performers, 3A will include groups with 37-50 performers, and 4A will include groups with 51 or more performers.

These shifts may lead to a few groups in a differnt division than they were last season - but it's just one more bit of chaos to add to this season.