By: Kellie Finch
Congratulations to all of our 2024 Independent A class finalists! View a recap of their productions below in order of Finals placement.
1st - M3 (93.425)
“A picture is worth a thousand words, but how many of those words are true?” M3’s 2024 production, entitled “#nofilter,” asked. Full of likes, comments, shares, and pictures, M3’s show encouraged the audience to cherish their memories and be authentically themselves, not caught up in superficial filters.
2nd - Charles Towne Percussion (93.038)
A beautiful morning on the forest floor began in UD Arena, filled with sunshine and furry woodland creatures living happily in their “Habitat.” Suddenly, construction workers and faceless corporate goons took the scene, cutting down all of Charles Towne Percussion’s trees until there were none left—and the woodland creatures were nowhere to be found.
3rd - Revelation (92.113)
Pressure took the focus of Revelation’s 2024 production, entitled “No Pressure, No Diamonds.” Performers joined the tarp and 3D diamond props in their various hues of purple as the diamonds lit up across the floor, remembering that pressure is a key part of life—and often leads to something remarkably beautiful.
4th - North Star Independent (89.650)
“From nothing, to something, to everything.” North Star Independent’s 2024 production, entitled “Out of Nothing,” embraced this, cherishing the nothingness and turning it into something brilliant. What began as silence accompanied by only the brief bristles of a paintbrush eventually became a beautiful, colorful painting.
5th - Lake Effect Percussion (89.350)
Lake Effect Percussion signed, sealed, and delivered a love letter to Michael Jackson with their 2024 production, entitled “To the King of Pop.” Decked out in sparkly black and silver outfits, performers moonwalked, posed, and brought the house down—all while accompanied by several of the King of Pop’s songs to groove to.
6th - Groove Pursuit (85.663)
Everyone in the UD Arena audience became “Children of the Stars” after watching Groove Pursuit’s 2024 production. Shooting stars and planet props orbited the floor, a quad player rotated around the Earth, and lights lit up the room, becoming stars themselves.
7th - Fruitport Independent Percussion (OH) (83.900)
Fruitport Independent Percussion transformed UD Arena into their very own western movie with their 2024 performance, entitled “Gunslinger.” A covered wagon was overtaken by a group of bandits, leading to a show-long feud that ended in gunshots.
8th - Vortex Percussion (82.725)
Vortex Percussion’s 2024 production, entitled “Product of My Own Design,” is permanently
tattooed on our hearts after their finals run-through. Each performer took a trip to the tattoo
chair while groovy electro music played on the keyboard, learning to embrace their
individuality and make a mark on the world consecutively.
9th - Carolina Storm Indoor Percussion (81.500)
Old arcade games, bouncy balls, and electric guitar solos kicked off a fun day at the arcade with Carolina Storm Indoor Percussion in their 2024 production, entitled “Adventures in the Arcade.” Performers played a quick game of Pac-Man before booting down, ending the show with a final, “Game Over!”
10th - Quad City Percussion (81.125)
Make sure not to say Quad City Percussion three times, unbroken, or else you’ll find yourself in the midst of an undead finals showdown! Quad City Percussion’s 2024 production, entitled “A Handbook For the Recently Deceased,” gives the newly dead a rundown on how to behave at funerals, with mortals, how to haunt, and how to not lose your soul—all while decked out in the classic Beetlejuice green hair and striped suit.
11th - Impulse Drumline (78.800)
Welcome to the Hive: Impulse Drumline introduced the audience to its queen bee-themed nightclub in their 2024 production, entitled “Queen.” The primary performer, the queen, danced around the floor, controlling each of her bees, before ending the show on top—of several marimbas, to be more specific!
12th - Columbus Saints Indoor Percussion Ensemble (77.725)
Candelabras and Count Dracula music introduced the UD Arena audience to Columbus Saints Indoor Percussion Ensemble and their 2024 production, entitled “Join Us.” Vampires surrounded a non-vampire before she attempted to befriend them, and the inevitable happened: they were bitten, adding another to the vampire family.
13th - IGNITE Winter Percussion (73.450)
IGNITE Winter Percussion drew the audience on an emotional journey through their 2024 production, entitled “Higher Ground.” Performers witnessed the aftermath of Hurricane Shelby, experienced a wave of water covering the entire ensemble and grieved what was lost, before they ended up achieving higher ground after all.
14th - Shockwave (70.975)
Whiteboards and a large wooden desk set the scene for Shockwave’s 2024 production, entitled “The Interview.” Performers slowly shared the requirements of the job position to the audience, before revealing that the interview was for one of life’s most underrated jobs: parenthood.
