Sept. 30, 2019 at 4:15 p.m. CT
The Blue Springs Golden Regiment made their BOA Regional debut this weekend and were able to come out with a victory; however, many other bands had exciting new victories of their own, with Rosemount coming in a close second and Camdenton snatching third. As BOA prepared for their very first regional in Iowa, many big names were set to take the field on Saturday. Of those bands who attended, three have been Grand National Finalists in the last 10 years. But it was clear that some of the non-finalist bands have stepped their game up, especially this year. This made for a very entertaining show that set the tone for this year as “expect the unexpected”.
It was their first time to perform at a regular season regional, first time back in class AAA, and first public competitive performance of their year. With all that new, Blue Springs (82.850) has still held on to that very “Lindsey Vento” design of years past. “The Land of Make Believe” was full of excitement, imagination, and of course… PINK! Even though most people were shocked that the Golden Regiment did not come out on top in prelims, they were able to push through and add a regional championship to their list of accomplishments, with Rosemount right on their heels. Since Rosemount (82.600) has been a high performing group in the past 10 years, it is no surprise that “Transcendence” had huge success this weekend. Being that it is still early in the season, it will be interesting to see how results between these two bands play out when they hit each other again in just a few weeks in St. Louis.
Over the past three years, Camdenton (80.650) has been making a name for themselves in the BOA world and this weekend was no exception. Their show “Transformations” explored the transformation from black, to a spectrum of colors. It is evident that the members love what they’re performing and results show that the hard work pays off. The Cammies are for sure a “must see” this year and join the list of bands we are excited to see at the St. Louis Super Regional.
The three Illinois schools — Lockport Township, Marian Catholic, and O’Fallon Township — finished off the middle part of ranks placing sixth, fifth, and fourth. Lockport Township (76.300) had a noticeably shaky run in their preliminary round, however, they were able to perform “The Tribe” with gusto creating an absorbing performance. Marian Catholic (76.850) performed “SSSsssss” which is best described as: intense. One notable thing about their design this year is their uniforms, they are profoundly fierce and draw your eye to to the field immediately. O’Fallon Township’s (79.750) show “Architecture in Motion” was a change from their previous shows where they used “the tarp”, but not a bad one. Their sound is unmatched to years past, and the (what seems to be) hundreds of boxes on the field add an overwhelming general effect to the show. Even though O’Fallon will not be attending the Illinois state marching competition, it will be fun to see how the bands continue to rank amongst each other through the season.
Coming in seventh place, Lincoln (73.050) brought the crowd back to their childhood with “Playground”. Not only is this show visually fun, the music (like “School’s Out”, “London Bridge”, and “Row Your Boat”) matches the all around bright and bubbly feel that Lincoln creates (it’s also worth mentioning they had seesaws on the field!). Right behind Lincoln was Independence (72.950) in eighth place. The class A champion did not let their size determine how they performed. Though they had some technology issues during their pre-show, they had a full sound and a beautiful soprano saxophone solo.
Rounding out the final two spots were the other Missouri schools in finals, Nixa and Blue Springs South. Nixa’s (72.950) “Thorns Remain” opened with a demented rendition of “Ring Around the Rosie” (as if the song wasn’t creepy enough). With large numbers (both in instruments and color guard) they filled the dome with their presence. Blue Springs South (71.500) came in the final slot with “Graffiti” which sent the audience to Europe. This finals performance reassured South’s spot as a consistentBOA finalist alongside their sister school.
A weekend of firsts in Cedar Falls, Iowa
By Scott OverfieldThe Blue Springs Golden Regiment made their BOA Regional debut this weekend and were able to come out with a victory; however, many other bands had exciting new victories of their own, with Rosemount coming in a close second and Camdenton snatching third. As BOA prepared for their very first regional in Iowa, many big names were set to take the field on Saturday. Of those bands who attended, three have been Grand National Finalists in the last 10 years. But it was clear that some of the non-finalist bands have stepped their game up, especially this year. This made for a very entertaining show that set the tone for this year as “expect the unexpected”.
It was their first time to perform at a regular season regional, first time back in class AAA, and first public competitive performance of their year. With all that new, Blue Springs (82.850) has still held on to that very “Lindsey Vento” design of years past. “The Land of Make Believe” was full of excitement, imagination, and of course… PINK! Even though most people were shocked that the Golden Regiment did not come out on top in prelims, they were able to push through and add a regional championship to their list of accomplishments, with Rosemount right on their heels. Since Rosemount (82.600) has been a high performing group in the past 10 years, it is no surprise that “Transcendence” had huge success this weekend. Being that it is still early in the season, it will be interesting to see how results between these two bands play out when they hit each other again in just a few weeks in St. Louis.
Over the past three years, Camdenton (80.650) has been making a name for themselves in the BOA world and this weekend was no exception. Their show “Transformations” explored the transformation from black, to a spectrum of colors. It is evident that the members love what they’re performing and results show that the hard work pays off. The Cammies are for sure a “must see” this year and join the list of bands we are excited to see at the St. Louis Super Regional.
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| O'Fallon Township performs at the Cedar Falls Regional on Sept. 28, 2019, at the UNI-Dome in Northern Iowa. // Photo by Scott Overfield |
Coming in seventh place, Lincoln (73.050) brought the crowd back to their childhood with “Playground”. Not only is this show visually fun, the music (like “School’s Out”, “London Bridge”, and “Row Your Boat”) matches the all around bright and bubbly feel that Lincoln creates (it’s also worth mentioning they had seesaws on the field!). Right behind Lincoln was Independence (72.950) in eighth place. The class A champion did not let their size determine how they performed. Though they had some technology issues during their pre-show, they had a full sound and a beautiful soprano saxophone solo.
Rounding out the final two spots were the other Missouri schools in finals, Nixa and Blue Springs South. Nixa’s (72.950) “Thorns Remain” opened with a demented rendition of “Ring Around the Rosie” (as if the song wasn’t creepy enough). With large numbers (both in instruments and color guard) they filled the dome with their presence. Blue Springs South (71.500) came in the final slot with “Graffiti” which sent the audience to Europe. This finals performance reassured South’s spot as a consistentBOA finalist alongside their sister school.
