It’s the middle of February, which means that some groups are starting their seasons, some groups are in the middle of their seasons, and some groups are near the end of their seasons. What does that mean? Epic show choir battles for everybody else to sit back and enjoy.
Elkhorn South Crystal Cup
The Lineup (groups from Nebraska unless noted)
Mixed: Elkhorn “Excel”, Gretna “Revolution”, Harrisburg “Eclipse” (SD), Millard North “Infinity”, Millard South “South on Stage”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titanium”
Womens: Mercy “Treblemakers”, Millard North “Illumination”, Millard South “Stage One”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titan Radiance”
Prep: Gretna “Evolution”, Millard North “Intensity”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titan Express”
The headliner here is Gretna. Whether it be the Katelyn Wallace effect, the Stephen Todd effect, both, or something else, Revolution is one of the hottest show choirs in the country right now. A weekend after taking down Westside for the second time this season, Gretna will now aim for a repeat defeat of Papio South. Titanium came home a solid second to Johnston two weeks ago, outpacing Mitchell. It will be tough for Titanium to close the gap, but it would be a sparkling example of in-season progress if they did. Looking to play spoiler is Millard North. Infinity actually beat Titanium at Millard West three weeks ago, but they are still regarded as more of an upstart. If Papio South can close the gap to Gretna, chances are Millard North will be in hot pursuit. Whoever finishes third here will still have done an incredible job. Crystal Cup has typically not taken prep or womens groups to finals. That leaves Millard South, Harrisburg and Elkhorn, three programs who have been low-finals groups throughout January and early February. Fourth place will be “best of the rest” and a solid accomplishment to write home about.
Manteno Main Event
The Lineup (groups from Illinois unless noted)
Championship: El Paso-Gridley “Modulations”, Huntington North “Varsity Singers” (IN), John Hersey “OnStage”, Oswego “Commotion”, Peoria “Soundwave”, Wheaton North “Flight”
Festival: Alan B. Shepard “Nova”, Batavia “Swingsingers”, Danville “Delegation”, Dwight D. Eisenhower “Express”, Herscher “Class Act”, Highland “Dissonance”, Pekin “Noteables”, Peotone “Powerhouse”, Sullivan “Singers”, Watseka “Sensations”
Single-Gender: Danville “Contemporaires”, Danville “Executives”, El Paso-Gridley “Hi Fidelity”, Huntington North “Viking Volume” (IN)
Manteno’s no-finals format and a California-esqe power dynamic in Illinois allows a unique situation where three heavyweights can still go at it in the top division with no fewer than ten choirs (all in-state!) in the lower mixed division. Wheaton North has been unstoppable as of late, but El Paso-Gridley has won two weeks in a row and is looking to, at the very least, take a caption off Flight. Huntington North tied Findlay in choreography last weekend at Carroll, leaving no doubt to their prowess as well. Behind them, John Hersey debuts for the year, while Peoria and Oswego are both coming off missing finals in their previous competitions. In festival mixed, Alan B. Shepard and Dwight D. Eisenhower have both spent time in the championship division recently and will be the favorites. After that, it is truly anybody’s to win, with the victor instantly becoming the festival mixed small favorite for the rest of the season.
Neosho The Sho
The Lineup (groups from Missouri unless noted)
Large Mixed: Carthage “Soundwave”, Jenks “Trojanaires” (OK), Joplin “Sound Dimension”, Oak Park “Oak Street Singers”, Troy Buchanan “Express”, Webb City “Singers”
Small Mixed: Cassville “Center Stage”, East Newton “Patriot Singers”, El Dorado Springs “Sound Collage”, McDonald County “Rhapsody n’ Rhythm”, Mt. Vernon “Vocal Motion”, Nevada “Soundsational Singers”, Troy Buchanan “Soundwave”
Single-Gender: Carthage “Suite Sounds”, Jenks “Trojan Spirit” (OK), Joplin “Sound Dimension”, Nevada “Treble Effects”, Oak Park “Treble FX”, Webb City “Bella Voce”, Webb City “DoMENance”
It’s quite the feat when inaugural competitions find their way onto Comps of the Week, but here Neosho is! The Sho attracted groups from several areas, including several from the home base in southwestern Missouri, Oak Park from the Kansas City area, Troy Buchanan from eastern Missouri, and Jenks from Oklahoma. While Troy likely will win the competition, it will be a madhouse behind them. Webb City hasn’t finished lower than second all year and will look to keep that streak going here. Joplin will look to avenge a loss to Webb City from earlier in the season at Mt. Vernon, while Jenks and Oak Park are both coming off solid fourth-place showings. Carthage will look to make finals here after missing at Troy Buchanan last week. Oh, don’t forget that the girls groups from Webb City and Joplin will give all the mixed groups a run for the money as well! There are so many ways The Sho could go, and only time will tell how it actually falls.
Wildcard: North St. Paul Rock the North
In a crazy voting week, North St. Paul outlasted Tantasqua in the Instagram poll and was second in the X poll to Carroll, claiming the combined poll win and the wildcard spot. Be sure to vote in the polls next week to choose the final Comp of the Week!
The Lineup (groups from Minnesota unless noted)
Mixed: Altoona “Locomotion” (WI), Bloomington Jefferson “Jefferson Connection”, Hastings “Riverside Company”, Sauk Prairie “Executive Session” (WI), South St. Paul “SouthSide Sensation”, St. Francis “Bridge Street Singers”, Totino-Grace “Company of Singers”, Waconia “Power Company”
Prep: Colby “The Coalition” (WI), Medford “Momentum” (WI)
Single-Gender: Bloomington Jefferson “Jive”, Hastings “Riverside Company”, Sauk Prairie “Executive Session” (WI), Totino-Grace “Encore Singers”, Totino-Grace “Testostertones”, Waconia “The Current”
It’s crazy to think that in a season not affected by weather, Waconia and Hastings would’ve had three matchups. The last one was as advertised at Bloomington Kennedy, with Waconia placing second with no major captions while Hastings took third, Best Vocals and Best Band. The heat will be on Riverside to avenge the season series with PoCo. Behind them, Sauk Prairie, Bloomington Jefferson, and Totino-Grace have all been solid finals groups so far in 2024. Look for these three groups to fight for the last podium spot. As for the sixth finalist spot, South St. Paul pulled off a surprise upset on Bridge Street two weeks ago at Altoona, with Southside fifth and BSS sixth. That battle will be the one to watch, and the victor will likely go to the evening round.
As always, make sure to come back bright and early next week to take a look at how everything on the stage turned out this weekend!
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