Only the best of the best! 

Come next month, outstanding high school marching bands from 23 states will compete in the nation’s most prominent marching band championship, Music for All’s Bands of America Grand National Championships, presented by Yamaha, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, November 8-10.

James Stephens, Music for All, explains: 

Approximately 100,000 participants and spectators are expected to attend over the three-day event. Bands will compete from Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and West Virginia 

The Bands of America Grand National Championships, presented by Yamaha, is America’s national championship for high school marching bands and the culmination of the Bands of America season with 22 events held across America. Grand Nationals is not only an exciting live performance event for spectators, it is an educational experience for the young musicians who participate and their teachers.
 
The championship event will feature 110 bands in two days of preliminary competition on Friday and Saturday. Thirty bands from preliminary competition will advance to Saturday’s Semi-Finals. The top 12 scoring bands on Saturday will move on to the evening Finals competition, where the Grand National Champion will be named. A panel of nationally recognized music educators and marching arts experts will evaluate the Grand National Championship performances.
 
Six outstanding college marching bands will perform in exhibition throughout the event, from Ball State University, Marian University, Michigan State University, Tennessee State University, University of Toledo and West Chester University. Grand Nationals also includes an Expo with more than 100 booths on the Lucas Oil Stadium concourse, and a student leadership workshop.
 
Grand Nationals has been held in Indianapolis all but two years since 1984, first in the Hoosier Dome/RCA Dome and in Lucas Oil Stadium since it opened. The 2018 Grand National Championships wasexpanded for 2018, making it the largest Bands of America Grand National Championships in the organization’s 43-year history.
 
With over 1.5 million music students impacted by Music for All’s programs over more than 40 years, Bands of America Championships are a celebration of music education at its finest, showcasing excellence, teamwork, and leadership. Paige’s Music/Chops Percussion of Indianapolis is the Official Music Store of the event. In addition to those in attendance, thousands more will watch the GrandNationals live stream on FloMarching.com.
 
In addition to Grand Nationals, the Bands of America Indianapolis Super Regional will also be in Lucas Oil Stadium, on October 19-20.

Schedule
The Grand National Championships preliminary competition begins on Thursday, November 8 at 7:45 a.m. and will conclude at 11:15 p.m. The preliminary competition resumes on Friday November 9 at approximately 7:00 a.m. and concludes at 8:15 p.m. Gates will open for the Semi-Finals competition on Saturday, November 10 at 6:30 a.m. with performances beginning at 7:00 a.m., and will conclude at4:45 p.m. Gates open for the Finals competition on Saturday, November 10 at 6:30 p.m. with performances beginning at 8:00 p.m. All times are tentative pending the final schedule of performing bands. Current times will be listed at musicforall.org.
 
Twelve Indiana bands, including Avon High School, Carmel High School, Castle High School, Center Grove High School, Columbus North High School, Fishers High School, Goshen High School, Greenfield Central High School, Homestead High School, Lawrence Central H.S., Lewis Cass High School, and Monrovia High School will compete in the Grand National Championships.
 
Special Events
Six college bands will perform in exhibition: Tennessee State University “The Aristocrat of Bands” on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and Friday at 10:00 a.m.; Ball State “Pride of Mid-America” Marching Band on Friday at 4:45 p.m.; the Spartan Marching Band of Michigan State University on Friday at the conclusion of the preliminary performance at 8:15 p.m.; Marian University Marching Knights on Saturday at 9:00 a.m; The Rocket Marching Band of the University of Toledo at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, and the Incomparable Golden Rams Marching Band of West Chester University at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Friday evening’s festivities after the preliminary competition will begin at 8:30 p.m. and will include the Sponsor Recognition Awards; the presentation of the Patrick John Hughes Parent/Booster Award, a national award honoring an outstanding band parent and supporter and named in honor of Louisville resident Patrick John Hughes, co-author with his son Patrick Henry of “I Am Potential”; and the Prelims Awards Ceremony & announcement of Semi-Finalists. There is also a Student Leadership Workshop with Dr. Tim Lauzenheiser, where student leaders will learn hard-hitting life skills that will positively contribute to the welfare of their band programs.
 
Special events include programs for future music educators, student leaders, and music education advocates.
 
Ticket Information
Tickets are available for the Grand National Championships at Ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster by phone and at the Lucas Oil Stadium ticket office. Tickets for the four days of events range from $16 to $120. See all ticket prices at www.musicforall.org. Children ages 10 and under are free for general admission seats. A $5 off any general admission ticket (individual Preliminaries and Semi-Finals) discount will be available at the gate for college students with an ID, spectators 11-18 years of age, military members and spouses (military ID required), and spectators age 62 and over.
 
About Music for All
Since 1975, Music for All, through its Music for All, Bands of America, Orchestra America, and choir programs, has been a destination and set the standard for scholastic music ensemble performance and music education advocacy. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization, Music for All’s mission is to create, provide, and expand positively life-changing experiences through music for all. Music for All’s vision is to be a catalyst to ensure that every child in America has access and opportunity for active music making in his or her scholastic environment. Music for All serves more than 500,000 participants annually with programs that include 30+ annual events, including the Bands of America Grand National Championships and Regional Championships for marching bands, the Music for All Summer Symposium camp for students and teachers, the Music for All National Festival and Affiliate Regional Music Festivals for concert bands, orchestras, choirs, chamber ensembles, percussion ensembles, and the national honor concert band, jazz band, orchestra, and the Bands of America Honor Band that will march for the fifth time in the Rose Parade® in 2021.

To learn more, visit www.musicforall.org.