If you are in Indiana during the fall, you know marching band is a huge deal here! Indiana is home to many of the best marching bands in the country with Avon, Carmel, Center Grove, Chesterton and Lawrence Central all winning the Bands of America Grand National Championships.

This weekend is the famed “Cavalcade of Champions” at Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana. One of the most storied marching band invitationals in the state. This is the last weekend of invitationals before “playoff” season begins. If you’re looking to see some of best bands from around the state, this is a great show to attend as it features incredible programs, big and small!

The “playoffs” are the process of working from every competitive marching band into the eventual state champion of each respective class. The competitions are hosted by ISSMA (Indiana State School Music Association) at various sites throughout the state. Each class is determined by school size with Class D being the smallest competitive class and Class A being the largest class. We begin with a regional where the top 10 bands in each class move on from each site into the semi-state stage. At semi-state, the top 10 bands in each class advance to the state finals where each class has a competition to become the state champion.

The ISSMA competitive schedule is as follows:

ISSMA Regionals – October 15th
Chesterton HS (Class B & D)
Lafayette Jefferson HS (Class A & C)
Center Grove HS (Class A & B)
Evansville Central HS (Class C & D)

ISSMA Semi-State – October 22nd
Ben Davis HS (Class A)
Pike HS (Class B)
Decatur Central HS (Class C)
Franklin Community HS (Class D)

State Finals – October 29th
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis (All Classes)

Paige’s Music is proud to support ISSMA and all of the participating groups in the upcoming events. Best of luck to everyone this fall!