Anderson County, Lafayette win state band titles

12 area bands make finals, three finish second

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Central and Eastern Kentucky high schools placed 12 bands in the finals, won two titles and had three bands finish second in the state high school band championships Saturday at Kroger Field on the UK campus.

Anderson County won the Class AAAA title with its show ‘The Endless Echo,’ edging out traditional power Bourbon County, who won the semifinals, and has a long history of championship, including a national title.

South Laurel, which also drew praise from fans for its performances, took third and Harrison County was fifth.

Lexington’s Lafayette High took Class AAAAA, edging Madison Central. George Rogers Clark in Winchester finished fifth.

It was Lafayette’s 22nd state title and fourth in a row with its show “Peace of Mind.”

In the 35th year for the competition, a total of 30 bands — six in each class — competed in five different classes based on the size of the band and the size of the school. It was the first year the Kentucky Music Educators Association expanded the fields to six bands. As many as a dozen bands competed in semifinals with the top six advancing to the championship round.

In Class AAA, Estill County finished second behind Murray and Madison Southern took fifth.

In Class AAA, Mercer County was fifth and in Class A, Somerset was fifth and Nicholas County sixth.