Bloomington Kennedy Gold Kicks Off Minnesota Season in Earnest
- Quinn Masek
- 15 hours ago
- 2 min read
By Quinn Masek, Siouxland contributor
As the first competition in the state of Minnesota each season, Bloomington Kennedy Gold always draws great lineups. Almost every notable Minnesota group will be at this competition this weekend, plus Sparta. Groups can definitely use this as a chance to see how they stack up against the best in the state as battles across the Twin Cities metro loom for the rest of the season.
Mens Division
Totino-Grace “T-Tones”
Going from “Testostertones” to “T-Tones” for this season, Totino-Grace's mens group is not the largest choir but shouldn’t be underestimated. They placed sixth overall at Spirit Lake last season.
Womens Division
Totino-Grace “Encore Singers”
Bemidji “La Voce Ballo”
Bloomington Jefferson “JIVE”
Sparta “Rise of Adrenaline”
Waconia “The Current”
Hastings “Dynamic Edition”
The favorite to win this division looks like Dynamic Edition, having won the womens division at Linn-Mar ahead of some impressive Iowa groups. With that said, Rise of Adrenaline has won their division at both of their previous two competitions this season, JIVE placed fifth in finals at Altoona last weekend, and La Voce Ballo is making its first competition appearance of the season. There is plenty of room for any of these contenders to steal the show
Finals Predictions
Predictions represent the opinion of this contributor and not of HomeRoom Show Choir.
GC: Hastings “Riverside Company” (BV/BC/BB)
1RU: Waconia “Power Company”
2RU: Sparta “Upstage Adrenaline”
3RU: Bloomington Jefferson “Jefferson Connection”
4RU: Bemidji “Vocalmotive”
5RU: Totino-Grace “Company of Singers”
With Sioux City East not traveling to Minneapolis this weekend, that leaves room for someone else to make finals. Sioux City East or not, Riverside Company is in great position to sweep this competition. Having faced tough Iowa groups already in the season, Hastings tends to make incredible leaps between their first and second competitions. Power Company has only lost to De Pere Jam Session so far this season, so they are familiar with podium-level success this season. Upstage Adrenaline is a tricky group to judge, as they have podium potential but also could wind up near the bottom of finals. But there is optimism in the air, and if any show can pull it off, it is their Olympics-themed show.
Jefferson Connection won their first competition since 2022 last weekend, and that could help elevate the group and have them place higher than expected. Vocalmotive hasn't competed yet this season, which makes them tough to place. But who knows - maybe they surprise everyone and make it onto the podium. Sixth place is definitely tricky as there are multiple that are going to miss finals. Company of Singers were able to place sixth last weekend against a stacked Milton lineup, so they have the upside to do it again here, although North St. Paul and Eau Claire Memorial are coming off finals berths of their own last weekend at Altoona and Sparta, respectively.