West Marion Ushers in a "New Era" of Southern Small Mixed Show Choir
- Clark Piercy
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
By Clark Piercy, Southern contributor
Although it is difficult to determine the weather in the south, West Marion New Era is the group to trust with the forecast. During the 2025 competitive season, New Era upped their level and emerged as a small mixed titan with a seasons- and weather-inspired show, taking six division wins in seven tries.
This small division choir from Foxworth, Mississippi entered the southern show choir scene back in 1997 as a non-competitive show choir. When the choir first began competing in 2013, it only competed for one season and attended the South Jones Invitational and the West Jones Show Choir Invitational. After this singular season, the choir went back to not competing. However, in 2018, New Era rejoined the competition scene under the new direction of Jon Bullock. Bullock has been the sole leader of the program ever since. Under his direction, New Era has been steadily growing, and even more so in recent years.
At the beginning, the show choir placed in the depths of small mixed, but that's where most choirs start. New Era did not win its own division or even place in the top three in most competitions at first. Despite its humble beginnings, the choir began to see improvement starting in 2020. At the Purvis Show Choir Invitational, New Era saw its first division win. At this competition, West Marion went up against Richland Resonance and Franklinton Demonaires. It's a sign of longevity that New Era is now the last of these three choirs to exist.
In 2022, New Era started to place consistently in first or second place; the only exception was fourth place at the West Jones Invitational. This new phase of New Era could not have happened without the creation of their Frankstein show during 2022, which brought the group that success. Be that as it may, their true breakthrough show was Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, the group's 2023 show. This show captivated the audience and judges. During the 2023 competition season, the choir had better vocals and choreography than ever before. The proof was in the pudding as the accolades continued to rack up. One particular highlight was New Era's appearance in finals at the Mississippi Show Choir Contest, beating middle mixed groups from Sumrall and Oak Grove to advance to the evening round.
This past season, New Era made a big change, bringing in Dallas James Pritt as choreographer. They competed in seven competitions, one of the more robust schedules for the area. New Era started its 2025 season off with a double competition day. In January, the choir first competed at the South Jones Invitational, and then left to go compete at the Mississippi Show Choir Contest. The choir won the small mixed division at both competitions, even placing fifth overall at South Jones in a no-finals contest. It was a first-of-its-kind achievement in the south to win two divisions in one day, only equaled in the show choir world by a few Indiana groups. The successful start immediately launched New Era to the top of HomeRoom's southern small mixed rankings, a place they would stay for most of the season. After that weekend, New Era won first place at every competition except for the Oak Grove Magnolia Invitational. The only group they lost to all season? Pass Christian Luminary, a newer group that is following in West Marion's footsteps to become another power player in small mixed. Now, West Marion sits at the top of the totem pole of the small mixed division along with Pass Christian, Oxford, and others.
The creative team of Bullock and Pritt is back for 2026, and West Marion is sure to challenge everywhere they go. Keep an eye on this group that is helping push southern show choir into a New Era.