Band students from Lindbergh, Oakville and Bayless high schools joined nearly 70 other student marching bands in the Bands of America St. Louis Super Regional Championship from Oct. 23-24. Held at The Dome at America’s Center, the event hosted bands from Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Arkansas, Minnesota, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas.
Approximately 181,000 students performed at the Bands of America competition. Of that number, 245 of them were Lindbergh High School students. This was Lindbergh’s 25th year competing.
In advance of the competition, LHS band director David Wyss told The Call, “The Lindbergh Band has had a wonderful 2026 marching season and we are looking forward to our performance at The Dome tomorrow in hopes of earning a spot on Saturday evening as a finalist band.”
Lindbergh’s musical selections included “Toccata and Fugue in D minor” by Johann Sebastian Bach and “What Could Have Been” by Sting.
There were 118 students representing Oakville High School at the competition; Oakville High School Band Director Vance Brakefield says that the school has been a “consistent participant” since Bands of America started hosting competitions in St. Louis.
“Marching band isn’t just about playing music; it’s about pushing past fatigue, trusting the person next to you and creating something extraordinary together,” Brakefield said. “So proud of every single step students took this season!”
Oakville’s musical selections included “Wind, Water, Fire & Earth” by Matt Hightower, Josh Powell and Jeremy Thompson.
Led by directors Stephen Elford and Jeff Martini, the Bayless High School marching band performed musical selections including “Pure Imagination” by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley; “Here Comes the Sun” by George Harrison; and “Con te partirò” by Francesco Sartori.
All competing bands performed a unique show that could be up to 11 minutes long. Each performance was then evaluated by a panel of music educators and marching band experts who have been nationally recognized. The bands were scored on musical and visual performances, as well as “general effect.” The 14 highest-scoring bands advanced to the evening finals stage of the competition.
In addition to the competition, there were exhibition performances by Southeast Missouri State University’s Southeast Marching Band and the University of Arkansas Razorback Marching Band.
