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 t...

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...

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 th...

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 exhilarati...

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 re...

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 Bre...

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...

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...

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...

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?