Southern Show Choir Kicks Off with Both Alabama and Mississippi Action

By Tony Holeman, Southern contributor

Welcome to the first weekend of the southern show choir season! This week has a lot to dissect as the South will be holding two competitions (one each in Mississippi and Alabama) that both look a little different than they did to start as weather conditions throw a curveball at the region.

Hoover Show Choir Showdown

'Middle Division Beatdown' is the most apt way to describe this competition. The main takeaway from this event will be what happens in the division below. Tift County is coming off of one of their most successful recent competition years, but are facing programs in Vestavia Hills and Jasper who are looking to bounce-back from their last couple of seasons where they feel like there was more left on the table than they would have liked. Throw in a couple of wild cars with Enterprise and Pike Road and who knows what will happen. The small division features an interesting matchup of its own, with Rome and Helena facing off and Pike Road looking to upset either of these groups. The single-gender division is rounded out by groups from Tift County and Enterprise, although Tiftosterone will not make an appearance.

Predictions (No finals):

Predictions represent the opinion of this contributor and not of HomeRoom Show Choir. 

GC) Spain Park "Rhapsody In Blue" (BV/BC/Show Design)

1RU) Tift County "8th Street Singing Company"

2RU) Vestavia Hills "Singers"

Only Group in Large) Spain Park "Rhapsody In Blue"

1st in Middle) Tift County "8th Street Singing Company"

1st in Small) Rome "Grand Finale"

1st in Single-Gender) Tift County "Ladies Choice"

South Jones Invitational

Editor's Note: This section was written before Biloxi and Jackson Academy joined the lineup.

Holding up the Mississippi side of this weekend is the South Jones Invitational. While the Grand Championship and second-place groups look to be West Jones and Northeast Jones (who is moving up to 3A this season) respectively, a smaller competition means that each of the three groups in the higher-contested 1A division will place in the overall top five. These three 1A groups include the top-ranked-in-division West Marion, a strong Pass Christian (who upset West Marion near the end of last season), and divisional blue-blood Wayne County.

Predictions (No finals):

Predictions represent the opinion of this contributor and not of HomeRoom Show Choir. 

GC) West Jones "Imagination” (BV/BC/Show Design)

1RU) Northeast Jones "Gold Horizons"

2RU) West Marion "New Era"

3RU) Pass Christian "Luminary"

4RU) Wayne County "Orange Sensations"

1st in 3A) West Jones "Imagination"

1st in 1A) West Marion "New Era"

Northwest Rankin MusicFest

Editor's Note: This competition has now been cancelled, but the commentary will live on for posterity.

Starting off, this marks the first year that this event will shift from an exhibition occasion to a full-fledged competition. This event will also feature a brand new program, with Hamilton Legacy traveling from Alabama to make their debut (in the large division as well)! Hattiesburg will also be making their first appearance in over a decade after a program revitalization, with their 2A division mixed group Expressions storming back into the scene. On top of everything already, this event offers an early great look at the middle-of-the-pack groups in Mississippi, with the favorites of this competition being the mixed groups Madison Central, Jackson Academy, Biloxi, and Jackson Prep. Predictions are always an educated blind guess at the end of the day, but the first couple of weeks are always the hardest to guess. Nonetheless, here's a try.

Predictions (No finals):

Predictions represent the opinion of this contributor and not of HomeRoom Show Choir. 

GC) Jackson Academy “Encore” (BV/Show Design)

1RU) Madison Central "Reveille"

2RU) Biloxi "Sound Surge"

3RU) Jackson Prep "Reveillon"

4RU) Biloxi "Sound Sirens"

1st in 4A) Jackson Academy "Encore"

1st in 3A) Biloxi "Sound Surge"

1st in 2A) Jackson Prep "Reveillon"

Only Group in 1A) Hattiesburg "Expressions"

1st in Single-Gender) Biloxi "Sound Sirens"

Come right back here after the weekend is over for a dissection of all the results, whether they be chalk or upsets. Good luck to all the groups!