On Saturday, October 22, the eyes of the Mid-South marching band community were on Northeast Arkansas as two contests, the 2022 A-State Open and the Paragould McDonald's Marching Invitational, featured a combined 44 marching bands, including 42 competing ensembles and exhibition performances by the Sound of the Natural State and the Paragould High School marching band.
The A-State Open, held at Arkansas State University's Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro, featured several strong percussion performances from among the 21 high school bands which competed at the event. The percussion caption was judged by Dr. John Cypert, current Percussion Coordinator and Arranger for the University of Georgia Redcoat Band and previous percussion caption head, arranger, and coordinator for several world-class ensembles such as Crossmen (DCI), Spirit of Atlanta (DCI), Pariah (WGI), and Odyssey Percussion Theatre (WGI). Jonesboro High School, the Class AAAA overall champion, earned the highest percussion score of the day with 91.30, followed closely by Class AAA schools Pocahontas (90.80) and Potosi (90.10) and Class AAAAA schools Houston (90.00) and Marion (89.00). The percussion caption winners for Classes A, AA1, and AA2 were Bald Knob, Riverview, and Mountain Grove, respectively. The overall A-State Open Champion was Marion High School.
At the Paragould Invitational, Class AAAA South Gibson County (TN) earned the highest percussion score of 92, followed by Class AAAAA Bryant (91) and Class AAAA Greene County Tech (90). The percussion caption winners for Classes A, AA, and AAA were Gosnell, Rivercrest, and Walnut Ridge, respectively. Cabot High School was the overall Paragould Invitational Champion. Best of luck to all ensembles as they enter the final weeks of the marching band season!
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