Cache Valley marching bands deliver top finishes at Utah’s 2025 Red Rocks state finals

ST GEORGE – Marching bands from Smithfield, St. George and dozens of locations in between competed in the Red Rocks State Marching Band Championships on the campus of Utah Tech University Friday, Nov. 7. Sky View, Green Canyon, Ridgeline and Mountain Crest marching bands were among the 44 bands which performed on Friday under a clear blue sky and in front of thousands of cheering fans.

Bands have been competing in contests throughout September and October, but the competition at Utah Tech is the definitive state championship for all classifications of bands in Utah. Classifications are determined based on the size of the marching band.

Students and support staff spend countless hours working on these shows throughout the summer, preparing for the competition season which begins in mid September and culminates at the state competition in St. George.

The big winner among Cache Valley bands was Green Canyon, which competed among four other schools in the 5A Open Division. Under the direction of Jake Anderson, the Green Canyon Marching Band took first place with a score of 88.100. Only three other bands at the state competition (all large bands in the 6A Open Division) scored higher. Earlier this season, at the Davis Cup Invitational on Nov. 1st, Green Canyon secured a season-high score of 91.65, the highest score among all bands and classifications at the event. Green Canyon is the first band from Cache Valley to win the Davis Cup since Sky View won it in 1999.

The band also swept the caption awards at Red Rocks, meaning they performed the best in specific categories among other bands in their classification. The Wolves won Outstanding Color Guard, Outstanding Percussion, Outstanding Visual Performance and Outstanding Musical Performance for their show, titled “The Metaverse.”

The 4A Open classification had six schools competing, which included Mountain Crest, Sky View and Ridgeline. Under the direction of Joel Yoder, Mountain Crest won 2nd place with a score of 77.075. Their show is titled “Shifting Sands.” Ridgeline, under the direction of Jeremy Wells, placed fourth with a score of 73.688. Their show this year is titled “Midas.” And Sky View, under the direction of Bryan Carpenter, secured a score of 73.213. The theme of the Sky View Marching Band show this year is “Dracula: A Symphony of Horror.”

Green Canyon, Ridgeline and Sky View march again Saturday in the Bands of America Utah Regional Championships, which features bands from other states, including California, Colorado, Idaho and New Mexico. There are no classifications in Saturday’s competition, meaning all bands compete against each other regardless of size.

The Red Rocks State Marching Band Championships is produced and organized by the Utah Music Educators Association, chaired by John Miller.