The announcer console

The announcer console is your control panel for the whole day. Get to it by signing in — or ask the host for the direct link and bookmark it. It works best on a tablet or laptop in the press box.

Before the day

Sign in and open the console while you have signal, on the device you'll actually announce from — and keep it open through the show. An open console keeps working through a stadium signal drop; a closed one can't be reopened until the signal returns. If it's your own tablet, adding MusterSheet to the Home Screen keeps the console one tap away.

The screen has two halves: on the left, the advance button, the current band, your Announcement Script, and your transition-reading material — Vendor Ads directly above the Shoutouts queue; on the right, the Lineup and any host Announcements. Everything updates live on its own.

Moving bands through the day

One big button at the top runs the show. It renames itself so you always know the next move:

1. Stage [Band Name] — the next checked-in band moves to staging.
2. Start Performance — they take the field.
3. Finish Performance — they're done; the cycle starts over with the next band.

The button protects you from getting ahead of the day:

• "Waiting on [Band] check-in" — the band hasn't been checked in at the check-in table yet. The button wakes up by itself the moment they are.
• "Waiting on judges" — a judge isn't ready. This one pulses red, because it's the only thing holding up the show. Watch the Judges chip next to the button (All Ready / 2/3 Ready); the button turns green and enables itself when everyone's ready.

If a judge's phone dies or they've wandered off, you're not stuck: a Start anyway button appears just below the red advance button. It names who isn't ready, asks you to confirm, and is permanently recorded — it never marks anyone ready, it just lets this one band go on. Use it when the alternative is stalling the crowd, and tell the host either way.

Read the band name and not-ready judges in the warning, then choose Confirm once. The warning keeps that band's identity while the console updates behind it. Cancel leaves the band staged. If another operator has already advanced the show, the confirmation starts nothing and asks you to review the current band. If the judges become ready while you are reading, use the normal Start Performance button instead. A result message stays visible below the advance controls; connection or access errors explain how to retry safely. Without dialog support, the same confirmation opens as a separate page and returns you to the console.

Your script for each band

The Announcement Script card writes your copy for you, built from the band's own profile: class, school, directors, principal, superintendent, drum majors, guard captain, and show title — ending with the big line: "Drum majors, is your band ready?" Read it as-is or riff on it.

Shoutouts between bands

The Shoutouts card follows the show. While a band is staging or on the field, it shows only that band's shoutouts — if there are none, it says so by name and tells you how many are waiting for the next transition. The moment you tap Finish Performance, the card flips to the catch-up queue: shoutouts you missed for bands that already performed (most recent performer first), then general crowd shoutouts, then the next band's.

Read one aloud, then tap Mark read. It immediately leaves the active queue on your screen and on other connected announcer screens. It stays absent after refresh or reconnect. The read stamp and payment history are retained. Rejected messages also leave the active queue. New shoutouts pop in throughout the day as fans buy them — even one paid for hours after its band performed will surface at the next transition.

Announcements

The Announcements card labels each host message Staff or Public. Staff messages are directions for the event crew and stay off the spectator schedule. Public messages also reach fans on that schedule; use their content for any requested PA announcement. Each message appears once, including its line breaks.

Vendor ads

The Vendor Ads card lists each sponsor's ad copy. Read one during a lull and tap its checkbox — it sinks to the bottom, and unread ads float up. Once you've read them all, the rotation resets and starts over.

The awards teleprompter

At ceremony time, open the Awards Teleprompter (linked from the console). Until the host releases results you'll see "Waiting for the host to begin awards" — that's your cue to stall gracefully.

Once it's live:

• The screen shows one row at a time — or a special award with its sponsor line and winner. What a class-result row says depends on the host's Ceremony script setting. Ratings is the default: each school appears in performance order with its available caption ratings to read aloud — "In Class A, [School Name]. Drum Major — I. Color Guard — I. Band — I, I, II for an overall I!" The overall ends the Band line. Caption and individual Band judge ratings account for each rubric's available points; a 45 out of 50 earns the rating for 90%. A missing maximum is omitted, while a submitted zero is still read. The overall stays as certified. The reading and Sequence list hide numeric scores. If a school name is missing, the band name appears instead. In Placements style it reads "4th place... [Band Name]... with a rating of Superior" and shows scores.
• Read it, then press Next (the space bar and down-arrow key also work). Your co-announcer's screen advances in perfect sync with yours.
• After reading the final row, press Finish Awards. This opens the completion screen and unlocks publication for the host. If that final award has no saved winner, Finish Awards stays disabled until one is saved.
• Clicked too fast? Press Back to step back one row — it works even after you've run past the end of the list.
• A Sequence list below shows where you are in the running order. The host previews and saves that order before release. Standard reads class results, Best in Class Band, other specials, then division trophies; Custom may put awards or the class-reading block elsewhere. Follow the saved Sequence, which stays fixed once the ceremony begins.
• Perpetual trophies display their past winners year by year, ready to read.
• Agree any Announcer's Choice pick with the host before release. Every award must have a saved winner or a recorded host/co-host skip before the ceremony starts. Skipped awards are omitted from the script and row count.
• The released script is saved for the ceremony. Back preserves entry history, even when it clears a winner's revealed mark; it does not reopen the row for preparation changes.
• If an upcoming award needs a last-second correction, ask the host or co-host to use its emergency controls in Awards Prep. They can correct its saved winner or skip it only before you have ever entered that row. Your current reading stays in place while the script updates. A skipped row cannot be restored after release; if it was the last upcoming award, finish reading the current row and press Finish Awards. Current and previously entered rows stay protected, including after Back.

After publication, Back and Next are disabled and the completed ceremony can no longer be changed. A ceremony already released before the Ratings update keeps its original wording, scores, mode, and running order.

When you reach the end, the host clicks Publish — and every director's scores unlock at once. Your night is done.