On Oct. 30, ETSU will be hosting 22 high school bands from across the south for the regional championship as part of the Bands of America competition.
“It is a national level competition for high school bands. They have a series of regionals across the country that leads up to the grand championships in November in Indianapolis, and actually ETSU, in the early 80s, hosted that grand championship here in the Mini Dome,” said Joe Moore, the associate director of bands for ETSU Department of Music.
However, the championship was moved to Indianapolis after the Lucas Oil stadium was completed.
ETSU did not host another Bands of America competition until recently, in 2019, and the competition was cancelled in 2020, due to the pandemic.
For the 2021 competition, bands will be coming from Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia and Florida.
Performances will start at 9:30 a.m., and the ETSU Marching Band will perform at 4:15 p.m.
12 teams will advance into the finals round, starting at 7:15 p.m.
The competition is not only a great opportunity for the bands, but also a great way to showcase ETSU’s campus to potential new students.
“We certainly hope that the students and the parents and the staff that are visiting see how beautiful our campus is, see how beautiful this region is and get a chance to see the quality of our own marching band, and that it will influence people to, you know, want to come to school here,” said Moore.
The event is open to the public, and patrons can purchase tickets and merchandise through the Music for All organization.
For interested people who cannot attend in person, Music for All will be live-streaming the entire event from its website.
Patrons will be required to adhere to ETSU’s face covering policy and any other guidelines established by the university.
