ABOUT US

Hosted by the La Grange Band Booster Club and the Mighty Leopard Band in partnership with La Grange ISD, this invitational is designed specifically to serve the needs of small-school programs (UIL 1A–4A).

This fall on October 3rd, Leopard Stadium in La Grange, Texas will come alive with the launch of a brand-new contest built from the ground up for performance excellence. Battle at the Bluff was created with small programs in mind, focusing on delivering a smooth, efficient, and highly rewarding experience for both students and directors. Our mission is simple: provide a top-tier competitive environment paired with meaningful educational feedback to help every ensemble reach peak performance heading into the UIL contest season.

We built this contest by taking everything we love from the marching season including UIL contests, festivals, football game atmospheres, and winter guard events and combining it into one experience. The result is something we are incredibly proud of and excited to share. Our only regret is that we cannot compete in it ourselves. From start to finish, this event is designed to stand out as one of the most memorable and meaningful highlights of your students’ season.

Battle at the Bluff is named in honor of longtime La Grange Band Director Ed Lowes, whose influence on the program and community continues to this day.  Mr. Lowes dedicated his career to music education and to the students of La Grange. From 1973 to 2005 Ed and his wife Ann Lowes built a culture centered on excellence, pride, and high standards both on and off the field. His leadership shaped generations of musicians and helped lay the foundation for the program’s continued success. Battle at the Bluff proudly carries his name as a lasting tribute to his legacy and as a commitment to upholding the values he instilled in the program he loved.

The La Grange Mighty Leopard Band is a dynamic and rapidly rising UIL 4A program under the direction of Chris Cooper, Shelby Lane, Jacob Stephenson, and Sarah Fourmy.  In recent years, the program made school history, earning its first-ever advancement to the UIL State Marching Contest in 2024 and returning as a state-qualifying band in 2025. The Mighty Leopard Band has also earned multiple UIL Sweepstakes awards, reflecting a strong tradition of consistency and excellence. They have performed four times at the UIL State Wind Ensemble Festival. In 2025, the La Grange High School Band earned a Gold Award for their performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Most recently, the winter guard program was awarded Silver Medalists for the Texas Color Guard Circuit Scholastic Regional A Class in March 2026.