West TN Marching Arts

We talk about the things that have been happening in the Spring with our band, and with bands across West Tennessee - Indoor guard and percussion, Concert Performance Assessments, Spring Concerts, Recruiting Concerts, and all the many things that bands still do in the "off season" Then we take a few minutes to let our seniors reflect on their time in band, their time in school, and what they can take from this as they move on to their next phase in life.

We catch up on what we have been doing this semester, including sledding during the snow/ice storm that shut down school for 2 weeks!  We also talk about indoor drumline and All West Honor Band.  Then we start talking about field show reveals for Drum Corps.  Yes, it's never to early to stalk bands for field show reveals!  

We give just one more look back at the 2025 season and discuss what makes a successful season.  Then we share our Santa Wish lists that include everything band related.  What would be on your Band Christmas Wish List?

We give out awards to the best, most fun, most improved, and many others to show our appreciation for all hard work, creative shows, and fantastic players that we see every week from the marching bands in West Tennessee!  Who was the best band in West Tennessee?  The most fun?  What was the best moment of the year?  Find out the answer to these and more as we celebrate this awesome activity!

We recap the BOA Grand Nationals Finals, the official end of the national high school marching season.  How did everyone place, and do we agree with the placements?  How did the Tennessee Bands do?  It was an exciting event as the best bands in the country went head to head in Indianapolis!

We preview the excitement leading up to the BOA Grand Nationals in Indianapolis, what we consider the official end of marching season!  We cheer on the Tennessee bands, talk about who might win this year, and discuss potential reasons why some of the top bands don't attend the Grand Nationals sometimes.    

We go over the results of the Division I and Division II State Championships as well as the Bandmasters Championships at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.  We also talk about how the rain and cold affected our performance and our experience on the last marching day of the year.   As a bonus we brag about the band family in Texas that came together when Vandegrift's equipment trailer got hit by a train on the way to their state championships and how the other bands helped them out!

Wow!  There are so many competitions happening!  It's great!   We recap the Crockett County Marching Invitational, the Choctaw Classic, Contest of Champions and take a quick look at the results from the BOA Indianapolis Super Regional.   Then we preview Championship weekend - The Division I and II State Championships and the Bandmasters Championship at the Liberty Bowl.  What a whirlwind to end the season!  Good luck everyone!!!!

We are in the middle of the competitions season with multiple competitions happening in West Tennessee and across the nation.  We try to keep up by recapping the Gibson County Marching Invitational, the Bethel University Renaissance Marching Invitational, and BOA Regionals across the Nation.  Then we look ahead at this weekend's equally busy slate of competitions!   It is exhausting and exhilarating at the same time - Welcome to Band-tober!

We are back from Fall Break!  We recap not only the Huntingdon Invitational, but also the BOA Memphis and BOA Chattanooga Regionals.  Then we preview the Gibson County Marching Invitational and try to pick the favorites from each class.   We also realized after the recording that we missed previewing the Bethel University Competition this weekend.  Sorry we missed it!  We will make sure that we recap that competition in our next episode.

In this episode we do a recap of the Union City Invitational and the Championships at Bartlett Station.  Then we do an in depth preview of the Huntingdon Marching Invitational, which is happening this weekend with 19 bands!  We also go ahead and do a quick preview of which Tennessee bands will be at the BOA Memphis and Chattanooga Regionals because we will not be here next week because of Fall Break. It's October!  It's the most exciting part of Marching Season!  Good Luck to everyone wherever you may be going the next few weeks!

In this episode we do a quick recap of the Hornet Invitational and the Arlington Invitational.  Then we do an in depth preview of the Union City Invitational and take a quick look at the Championships at Bartlett Station.  We finish the episode with a discussion on if there should be a minimum amount of the show a band must perform to qualify for awards.  Good luck to all the bands competing this weekend!

It's the second set of interviews with students during the Hornet Invitational.  In this episode, we hear from students from Lakeland Prep and Union City High School.

The Hornet Invitational was this past weekend!  Throughout the day we brought students into the studio.  In this episode, we had some great interviews with band members from Jackson Christian School and Camden.

We go through the 22 bands performing at the Hornet Invitational, previewing what their shows are and all the things we are excited to see!  It's competition season!

A special quick episode of interviews from the Pete Evans Showcase.  We interview the Announcer - WBBJ Meteorologist Moe Shamell - and learn about his experiences in Marching Band.  And we also interview lots of students who brought the energy to this event - Josh Hansburg from Milan, Peabody students, SGC students, and Gibson County seniors, freshmen, and middle school students who march with the high school band.   The excitement coming from the students will get you hyped for competition season!

We had a great time seeing everyone's shows on a beautiful night at the Pete Evans Showcase in Milan.  Then we gather more intel on what shows other bands are doing in West Tennessee and we have a shout out to give!  Next week competitions begin and the real fun begins!!!

This week we preview the Pete Evans Showcase.  Who is Pete Evans?  What is a showcase?  What bands are going to be there? We also talk about how our show is progressing and whether or not we feel behind because of the heat. Competition season is almost here!

In this week's episode, we talk about our first home football game performance, stalk some more bands to find field shows, and give our first weekly shout outs.  Then we end with a cool interview with Grind City Percussion, the new Indoor Drumline that is looking for students all around West Tennessee to take their chops to the next level!

This week we talk about our first performance of the year, we talk about our SGC Band Field show titled "Unsteady", and then we interview Eli Lickey, who marched with Music City this summer!  We get some great insight into how to audition, what life is like during the corps marching season, and what it's like coming back to high school band after drum corps season is over.

Today we recap the DCI Finals and see if we agree with the results.  Then we scour the internet to find the names of field show of West Tennessee Bands.  We are excited to see everyone's show this year!

We are back with our Season 3 Premiere.  We talk about what we did this summer, then we look back at our memories from a HOT Band Camp!  Then we end with our thoughts on the DCI Nashville performances and preview the DCI Finals this weekend.   Welcome back to the West TN Marching Arts!

We reflect on a great year of band and our memories of last season.  We look forward to the excitement of this fall!  See you then!

What can you do in the summer to prepare for band camp?  We agree that it is important that you not wait until Band Camp starts to get used to physical activity and the hot weather, so we discuss some ways that have worked for us in the past to be ready to go on Day 1 of Band Camp. We also say goodbye to our senior Podcast member - Addi.  She share some memories and give some advice to anyone out there considering joining the band. All this, and with more bloopers than ever before!

Does it start in the summer? In June, May?  January?!?  Just like any sport, Marching Band has elements that are pretty much year round.  When do you consider the beginning of Marching Season?

Some bands march Parades in the Spring, some don't.  What are these parades and why do some bands choose to march in them?  Also, there has been a foul odor across the West Tennessee Rural Area the last week or so.  What in the world is this smell?! With special guest host - South Gibson Student Natalie Curtis!

How does Concert Band fit into Marching Band, or vice versa?  Does your school charge admission to their Band concerts?  Why or why not?  We talk about these things and more!  

It's been a few weeks since our last episode.  Spring Break happened, and then the crazy weather happened!  Our thoughts go out to all those in the West Tennessee area who were affected by the storms, especially in McNairy County and the Obion County flood area.   We also talk about the Winter Guard Championships that just happened.  And we start our online stalking of bands as Show Reveals start to happen!  This part of the year really gets us hyped up for what's coming!

This week we try to wake up from losing an hour of sleep to daylight savings time.  Then we talk about Concert Performance Assessment, better known as Concert Festival.  We talk about some of the scores from Memphis and preview the bands and songs being played at the UT Martin Festival.  We also discuss the benefits of going to concert festival as it relates to the Marching Arts.  

We talk about how we use time in the Spring to get the fundamentals and lines set for Color Guard and Percussion.  What do they do at these camps and what is their purpose?  Do you do the same thing or something similar at your school?

There is only so much you can do in class.  Students need to practice at home.  But how often? For how long?  What exactly do you need to practice?  We discuss these things and wonder at our recent crazy weather in West Tennessee.

We are joined in studio by some students who made All West Honor Band.  They tell us what they are excited about and give us their favorite memories of previous years at All West We are also joined by Eli Lickey, who just signed with Music City Drum Corps.  He fills us in on his experience with the audition process and what it has been like so far in his first time as a Drum Corps member.  

We discuss Concert Band how it prepares us to excel in the Marching Season and how it makes us more well-rounded musicians by exposing us to varied literature, skill sets, and musical styles.  And at a time when many students might consider Concert Band boring, we talk about why for many others this deepens their love for music and performing.  

Getting 8th graders and other new members to sign up for band next year is an important part of a marching program.  How do we do it here at our school?  Is the same or different than other schools?  Is there a best way to do it?   We talk about this and more as we fend off the sicknesses closing down schools across West Tennessee!  Stay healthy (or get better soon)!

In this episode Wyatt tells us about his All West Audition experience, we discuss what we learned about DCI rules after watching a video about proposed rules changes for this coming year, and we talk about Honor Bands in general and what they are for.

We talk about what we did during our break and what we did during our snow day!!  Then we discuss what we are doing in band this semester, from concerts to Winter Guard to All West Auditions this weekend.  Welcome back!

We talk about our Christmas Parade experience, our upcoming Christmas (or Winter) Concert, then we grill two of our Color Guard members with our pressing questions about Winter Guard.  We are probably asking the same questions as many of you out there - What is Winter Guard, is it just like Marching Band, when is the Winter Guard season?  Then we end our year with our Band Christmas lists - if there was a Band Santa, what would you put on your Band Christmas list?

Band is a year round sport, with plenty of performances happening well after marching season is over.  So what are we doing now in band?  Are we at South Gibson doing the same thing other schools are doing? Also, we talk about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York and how it compares to the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA.

We congratulate the 6 bands from Tennessee who went to the last Marching Competition of the year - the Bands of America Grand Nationals Championship in Indianapolis!  We also talk about the top bands in the finals and what our favorite shows were this year that we got to see at Grand Nationals.  

We discuss our final decisions for favorites of the marching season.  And then we preview the official end of the marching season - the Bands of American Grand National Championships in Indianapolis!  

We recap the Division I and II State Marching Band Championships along with the Bandmasters Championship.  We also talk about how we feel about this being the end of the marching season and what we have in store for the off season.

We recap a fantastic Dyer County Competition - the Choctaw Classic.  Then we preview the Division I and II State Competitions as well as the Bandmasters Championship at the Liberty Bowl this weekend!  And we ask the question - are you nervous or excited when you perform at a competition for the final time?

We are back!  Fall Break is over and we recap the competitions that happened since then - Huntingdon, BOA Memphis, Bethel, and Gibson County.  And then we preview all 24 of the great bands that will be at the Dyer County "Choctaw Classic"!

A short and sweet episode of interviews from the Gibson County Marching Invitational.  We hear from Students from McNairy, Brookland (AR), Germantown, and Union City.  It was a beautiful day with some great performances by these students!!

We talk with David Aydelott, who hosts the Tennessee Bandmasters Association Bandstand Podcast.  You can also hear this talk when you search for TBABandstand podcast.   We share our visions of uniting the Band families of Tennessee, talk about our experiences in band, and discuss how doing this podcast has opened our eyes to a bigger world outside of our band room walls.

We interview a few judges and students at the Huntingdon Marching Invitational!

We preview a unique approach to finals with Huntingdon's contest, and a big event at the Liberty Bowl with the Bands of America national circuit.  

We recap the results from the Hornet Invitational and the Arlington Invitational.  Then we preview the 24 bands attending the Union City Invitational.  Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Our final installment of interviews from the 2024 Hornet Invitational.  (apologies for misspelled names!): 0:00 - Intro 0:45 - Emma and Macie from Gibson County 5:31 - John Robison, Band Dad from South Gibson 6:40 - Ella Kay and Nate from JCS 16:13 - Riley Robertson, Adalynn Melton, and Lauren Olson 30:33 - outro

Some more great interviews from the 2024 Hornet Invitational (apologies for any misspelled names!): 0:00 - Intro 0:45 - Students from Lexington High School 2:15 - Anthony Wright, Shane Gomes, and William Clark from Obion County 10:50 - Corbin Jenkins and Parker Hamilton from South Gibson 12:20 - Andrew Burriss, staff member at Peabody, and Trevor Mayhall, director of Crockett County 28:06 - Melina Hurston and Taylor Robbins from South Gibson 29:49 - percussion students from South Gibson 37:14 - Chloe Garuno from Carroll County 37:59 - outro