Band Directors, we look forward to seeing you at the 45th New Mexico Pageant of Bands on Saturday, October 31, 2026 at Wilson Stadium, 12200 Lomas Boulevard NE in Albuquerque. Be a part of the musical excellence and showmanship of this wonderful competition! Online band registration for the event is open. We also wish to thank you for your timeless dedication to your students, for without them, there would be no Pageant of Bands.
To see a list of the bands who have entered this year’s competition, see our 2026 POB Band Entries page. You can also view the submitted band programs on our 2026 POB Band Programs page.
New Mexico Pageant of Bands
The New Mexico Pageant of Bands is a marching band competition for New Mexico High School Bands where bands are classified by band size, not by high school enrollment. Band size includes all students participating in the performance, including brass, woodwinds, drum line, pit and auxiliary along with students holding and moving props. These classes include:
| Band size includes all participating students | |
To enter your band into the competition, click 2026 POB On-Line Entry Form, complete the form and submit it. You will receive a confirmation email. This should be submitted as soon as possible, or no later than September 25, 2026. The NM POB reserves the right to close entries earlier if we have reached capacity.
Please indicate on the entry form the class in which your band will be participating. A band may move up in class, but cannot move down in class. The Pageant of Bands Organizing Committee recognizes that enrollments may change; therefore you may move down by class through October 2, 2026. If you have more students in band than your entry classification at the event, you will be moved to the proper class based on the number of your student performance participants. Please know your student count when you arrive at POB.
The 2026 non-refundable entry fee is $175.00. Please complete the ENTRY FORM and return it with your entry fee as soon as possible, or no later than September 25, 2026. Placement for competition in Class 1A and 2A for non APS bands will be assigned (we attempt to do this based on distance from Wilson Stadium). Placement for competition in 3A, 4A , 5A, and 1A and 2A APS bands will be determined by time of entry form receipt. Performance order will be based on class size and reverse entry receipt time (first received is last to perform within a class). Based on prior years POB performance times, we anticipate approximate performance times for 1A and 2A to fall between 8:00am-12:00pm, 3A between 10:00-2:00, 4A between 12:00-3:00, 5A between 2:00-6;00. Actual performance times will be set closer to the competition date when entries are finalized. New Mexico Pageant of Bands can accommodate a maximum of 25 bands for competition. Should more than 25 bands apply, the acceptance will be based upon time of entry form receipt.
Please submit your PROGRAM SHEET on or before October 23, 2026.
We look forward to seeing you and your band at the 45th Annual New Mexico Pageant of Bands on October 31, 2026!
The New Mexico Pageant of Bands normally has eight judges, including specific percussion and auxiliary (color guard) judges. Your school can compete against other bands in your classification, or you have the opportunity to perform for comments only. We use CompetitionSuite for scoring and adjudicator commentary for all competitions. When you register for the NM POB competition, your band will be added to the NM POB CompetitionSuite event.
If you have any questions or comments, email us at info@nmpob.org.
