West TN Marching Arts

With so many great interviews, we decided to break this down into three episodes.  Here is what is in Episode 1 (apologies for any misspelled names!): 0:00 - Intro 0:45 - Marcus Milensky and Conner McEvans from Scotts Hill 5:30 - Brylee Bonds, Brian Huxema and Aliyah Wilson from Haywood 6:50 - Jacoby and Ethan from Haywood 11:20 - Kaitlyn Egbert, staff member at Crockett County 12:10 - Mason Locka...

We preview the 23 bands that will be competing at the 2024 Hornet Invitational as well as the 10 bands competing at the Arlington Invitational.  Competition season begins!

We talk about making the most of it when you get rained out on Friday night.  And then we preview all of the bands attending the Pete Evans Showcase in Milan this Saturday September 14!

We talk about when we think we should have the whole show on the field, and do some quick interviews with SGC students and parents to prepare for the upcoming competition season.  

On this episode, we discuss the feeling of that first performance, what the hardest part of marching season is, and we have an interview with Gibson County student Corey Worrell.  

We talk about getting ready for football games, the heat, and the sicknesses affecting bands from across West Tennessee.  And we talk about "Technical Difficulties" - a band's worst nightmare as the show is about to start!

We talk about our preview performance that just happened, getting ready for football games, and our excitement to finally get to perform!  Then we end with a great interview with Dyersburg's Field Commander.

We are back!  After a small delay getting started, we arrive with new equipment and new hosts (since the old ones all graduated!)  We talk about the start of the year, band camp, and our 2024 field show here at South Gibson County High School, and convey our excitement to see everyone's show in West Tennessee.  We hope to see everyone soon on the marching field!

The hosts of our inaugural season of the podcast - Chloe, Katie, Kaitlyn, and Jojo - gather to share their memories of band and say goodbye.  See you next season!

We talk about WGI and DCI with special guests Tico Parson, Johnathan Johnson, Wyatt Smith, and Jacob Barron.  Who is your favorite drum corps?

We talk about all the things we have been doing in the Spring.  We also talk about how they relate to the fall Marching Season.  And then we talk about field show reveals, both at the high school level and DCI.

What does a marching band do in the Spring?  One of the things many band programs do is a Winter Guard.  We interview the instructors of South Gibson's winter guard - Caleb Gresham and Patrick Carter - and find out how they got started and discuss the challenges and the benefits of a winter guard program.  

What in the world do high school bands do when there is no marching band!?  We discuss the many opportunities to perform in the spring in West Tennessee.

We talk about what bands do after marching season to get ready for Winter performances.  And we put our wish list together for Band Santa!  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

We interview some freshmen from the SGC Band and get their point of view on how the marching season went and what some of their best memories were!  

We talk about our favorite DCI corps, shows, and history.  What is your favorite Drum Corps and favorite DCI Show of all time?

We recap the winners of the Bands of America recap and congratulate Bartlett and Arlington on their successful representation of West Tennessee at Grand Nationals!

Jeremy Tate has been in the West Tennessee area all of his life - as a student, teacher, and judge.  He talks about his story from as student in Humboldt's band to taking the Gibson County Mass Band to the Tournament of Roses Parade and how he is now judging marching events across the country.  

We recap the success of the West TN bands in Div. II State, and preview the West Tennessee bands competing in the upcoming BOA Grand Nationals.

We recap Mega weekend competitions of Bandmasters and the Division I State Championship.  Then preview the West Tennessee Bands attending the Division II State Championship this weekend.

We talk about a Mega Weekend of competitions!  Bandmasters, Bethel University, and Division I State Championships are all happening this weekend.  Good luck to all the participating bands!

We do a quick recap of the Gibson County Marching Invitational, then preview the bands going to the Championships at Bartlett Station and the Paragould Marching Invitational. 

The GCHS Contest, where we are looking forward to great bands, great concessions, and a partial solar eclipse!  See you there!

Since our band did not compete this weekend, this gave us the freedom to get even more interviews at the Huntingdon Marching Invitational on Sept. 30, 2023.  We have interviews with students, directors, vendors and the announcer of the contest!  

We do a short recap of the Union City Competition and preview the bands going to Huntingdon.  We are on Fall Break next week, but we encourage you to go see the BOA Regional at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis on October 7!