Colorado Bandmasters State Marching Band Championship Held at Colorado State’s Hughes Stadium Oct. 20-21

Thousands of high school student musicians will gather at Colorado State University’s Hughes Stadium to compete in the annual Colorado Bandmasters State Marching Band Championship on Oct. 20-21.  

The 4A and 5A Colorado high schools compete in the championship at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colo. Hughes Stadium seats 34,000 people, and the band competition draws as many as 20,000 spectators throughout the weekend. It is expected that 10,000 people will attend Saturday night’s finals contest in which the state’s top 16 bands compete.

Through a series of regional competitions held during the week of Oct. 9-12, bands from across Colorado compete to qualify for the state competition. The top 18 scoring bands in each 4A and 5A class advance to the championship weekend. In each class, the top 12 bands will advance from Friday’s quarterfinals to Saturday’s semifinals, with the top eight bands advancing to the finals to compete for the state championship in each class on Saturday night.

In past years, the annual 4A and 5A state competition has been held at Invesco Stadium in Denver, but the Colorado Bandmasters Association decided to move the competition to Hughes Stadium this year due to a scheduling conflict at Invesco.

"We are very happy we chose Hughes because of the warm reception we are receiving from the Fort Collins community. The hotels, visitor’s bureau and CSU have all been very helpful," said Wayne Manzanares, Colorado Bandmasters Association marching chair.

Tickets for the competition will only be available on the day of the event. Adult ticket prices range from $10-$12 depending on each competition. For more ticket information, a complete schedule of events and directions to Hughes Stadium, visit www.coloradobandmasters.org.

Schedule of the 4A and 54 state marching band competition at Hughes Stadium:

-Quarterfinals: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Oct. 20

-Semifinals: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Oct. 21

-Finals: 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m., Oct. 21

1A, 2A and 3A high schools will compete in Pueblo on Oct. 23.

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