And just like that, we've reached the final weeks of the 2023 USBands season. One of the last competitions of the season is the 2023 USBands Open Class National Championships, happening on November 4th at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. The best part is that you can stream all the action LIVE on FloMarching both live day-of and the day after with our Rebroadcast. Keep reading to learn about all the information you need to know ahead of Saturday's jam-packed competition day.

USBands Open Class National Championship

East Rutherford, NJ | November 4

Start Time: 8:00am ET

Competing Ensembles Include:

• Dartmouth High School
• Somerville High School
• Old Bridge High School
• and more

WATCH LIVE HERE

More Information

What Happened Last Year?

If you want to check out the full results from the 2022 USBands Open Class National Championship, check out the results page here. But if you want a quick rundown of the top three ensembles from each class, we've got you:

USBands Open Class National Championship Schedule

The 2023 USBands Open Class National Championships starts bright and early at 8:00am ET and will end around 11:00pm with awards starting shortly after the conclusion of the final competitive performance. If you want a full breakdown of each ensemble that will be competing at the USBands Open Class National Championship, check out the full schedule here. But as a basic overview of when fans can expect each class to start and end, here's the block schedule for the day:

• I / Open Class: 8:00am - 9:00am
• II / Open Class: 9:00am - 11:30am
• III / Open Class: 11:30am - 2:30pm 
• IV / Open Class: 2:30pm - 7:00pm
• V / Performance Class: 7:00pm - 7:30pm
• V / Open Class: 7:30pm - 11:00pm  

There will also be special performances by the James Madison University Marching Royal Dukes following the last of the IV / Open & V / Performance Class performances at 7:34pm, in addition to a second performance at the conclusion of the competition at 11:15pm. 

Please take note that the IV / Open awards ceremony will happen after the conclusion of the IV / Open class performances and the JMU exhibition performance at 7:34pm. The IV / Open awards ceremony will NOT be at the end of the competition with the rest of the class awards.

You'll Want To Keep An Eye On...

1. Somerville High School

• The New Jersey-based ensemble is making its second pilgrimage to MetLife stadium this weekend after competing at the USBands Ludwig-Musser Classic on October 7th. Somerville found itself handily atop the leaderboard after earning a 87.900, besting second-place Tenafly High School (82.200) by a staggering 5.700 points. On top of their class victory, the ensemble also managed to earn the highest score amongst all of the nearly 60 other competitors of the day. No big deal.
• Somerville High School is competing in the IV / Open Class and will take the field at the 2023 USBands Open Class National Championships at 4:10pm ET. 
• Somerville High School's 2023 program is titled, 'Delinquent' and features music by Karnivool, Radiohead, and original compositions. 

2. Dartmouth High School

• No stranger to fierce competition, Dartmouth High School will take the field on Saturday with the hope of claiming the title of V / Open Class Champion and three-peating the class, having won in 2021 (98.000) and 2022 (97.700). The 2023 USBands season has been fraught with weather cancellations, making ensembles like Dartmouth compete less than intended throughout the season. That said, Dartmouth has managed to find success in spite of the competition cancellations, most recently venturing to Piscataway, NJ for the BOA New Jersey Regional Championship where it claimed a massive first-place finish with a score of 86.650, outscoring second-place Unionville High School (83.600), third-place Downingtown-West High School (82.750), and a host of other ensembles Dartmouth will face again this weekend at MetLife.
• Dartmouth High School is competing in the V / Open Class and will take the field at the 2023 USBands Open Class National Championships at 10:00pm ET. 
• Dartmouth High School's 2023 program is titled, 'Stencils at an Alleyway' and features music by Modest Mussorgsky.

3. James Madison University Marching Royal Dukes

• This year's college exhibition band will be the JMU Marching Royal Dukes and fans should get excited to see not one, but two exhibition performances throughout the evening. The first exhibition performance will take place at 7:34pm ET following the conclusion of the IV / Open class & V / Performance Class block of the day. The second exhibition performance will be following the final V / Open class performance and ahead of the awards ceremony around 11:15pm.