Imagine

Reagan 2015 when they played that incredible ballad and the dancers trickled out onto the field.  Every time I saw that show I'd look around and see people wiping tears away. It was beautiful and full of joy.
Reagan 2018 loved everything about the show from the moment the pianist was rolled onto the field while playing.
Reagan 2019 Mind blowing. Just a truly stunning show and again--when the visual ensemble lifted the gold flags and ran around the entire field or when the drum major and the VE member ran through the circles that opened as they went through. Just a jaw dropping show.
Vista Ridge 2018 state finals. When the trombone player finished his solo and had that huge grin on his face, I knew they had won it. You could just see reflected in his face the special thing that was taking place on the field.
BOASA Finals 2017.  Just everything about that whole finals was incredible. I'm sorry for every person who didn't get to see it live.
Marcus's show that had the gates as props. That show blew me away.
The Woodlands show that had the train gates. That was such a well done show. I remember thinking all the bands at that competition were great and then they took the field and I knew they were on a completely different level with that show than anyone else that day.
FlowerMound 2015's Leonardo show. Truly a stunning concept and I'll never forget the moment of almost reverent silence on  the stadium when the flying machine "took flight." 
FlowerMound's Surreal show. The saxaphone players in the eggs. The singing heads. Loved it.
FlowerMound's 2018 show. I loved the innovative use of props and the pop art going on on the field. And their marching was so clean and precise.
Leander's Choral Works in 2015. Still sad we didn't get to see that show go head to head with Reagan and FlowerMound that year. 

Personally I'm not a fan of narration in marching shows. That being said, I've never forgotten the kid that did the intro in Hendrickson's 3D show. He was amazing. 

Personally I'm not a fan of narration in marching shows. That being said, I've never forgotten the kid that did the intro in Hendrickson's 3D show. He was amazing. 

They have more bands up if you follow them on Instagram.

what does that mean?  Hmmm on Vandy over Reagan?  All I can say is that TMC is going to be the hottest place to be on October 12!  

According to the weather reports it'll be the bands bringing the heat and not the weather. Fingers crossed.

With regard to the Marcus show from 2015--there are very few shows from 2015 out there on Youtube because that was the year that BOA and copyrighters went head to head over BOA selling videos from competitions. No videos were sold that year and BOA aggressively went after videos posted online after the competitions. FloMarching started up the next year, I think? But that year people who didn't go to BOA San Antonio or Grand Nats were basically out of luck if they were hoping to see a show online. 

Reagan struggled through both CTJ splitting off and several band director changes. The last director change was smoother, as the current director was an assistant and part of their rebuilding process prior to becoming director. I had a kid in the band during the rebuilding years, so the growth has been fun to watch.

As far as having the same bands/school districts at the top be boring--I don't feel that way at all. While I loved having Vista Ridge smash their way into the top this year and find that to be incredibly exciting, I also love it when a band who is "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" makes it to the top. There are a number of bands who are always finalists but who never actually win or even make top 3. But you know their name and you know their shows and you know they're probably going to be a lock for finals every year. So you might think that's boring. But every year I always hope to see one of them (the bridesmaids) finally reach their goal of coming out on top. I know what it feels like to get so close you can taste it, but never actually reach your goal. So to me that's exciting to watch those same groups who put out excellence every year, strive just that much harder to get just thatmuchcloser to the medal stand. It's just a different kind of exciting.
 
And I also have to add that back in the days when Marcus was at the top of the heap every single year, I never found their shows to be boring. I remember watching in awe and just sitting back and enjoying the show. I knew everyone else was fighting for second place. But that didn't make Marcus's shows any less incredible and exciting to watch. 

As far as having the same bands/school districts at the top be boring--I don't feel that way at all. While I loved having Vista Ridge smash their way into the top this year and find that to be incredibly exciting, I also love it when a band who is "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" makes it to the top. There are a number of bands who are always finalists but who never actually win or even make top 3. But you know their name and you know their shows and you know they're probably going to be a lock for finals every year. So you might think that's boring. But every year I always hope to see one of them (the bridesmaids) finally reach their goal of coming out on top. I know what it feels like to get so close you can taste it, but never actually reach your goal. So to me that's exciting to watch those same groups who put out excellence every year, strive just that much harder to get just thatmuchcloser to the medal stand. It's just a different kind of exciting.
 
And I also have to add that back in the days when Marcus was at the top of the heap every single year, I never found their shows to be boring. I remember watching in awe and just sitting back and enjoying the show. I knew everyone else was fighting for second place. But that didn't make Marcus's shows any less incredible and exciting to watch. 

As far as having the same bands/school districts at the top be boring--I don't feel that way at all. While I loved having Vista Ridge smash their way into the top this year and find that to be incredibly exciting, I also love it when a band who is "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" makes it to the top. There are a number of bands who are always finalists but who never actually win or even make top 3. But you know their name and you know their shows and you know they're probably going to be a lock for finals every year. So you might think that's boring. But every year I always hope to see one of them (the bridesmaids) finally reach their goal of coming out on top. I know what it feels like to get so close you can taste it, but never actually reach your goal. So to me that's exciting to watch those same groups who put out excellence every year, strive just that much harder to get just thatmuchcloser to the medal stand. It's just a different kind of exciting.
 
And I also have to add that back in the days when Marcus was at the top of the heap every single year, I never found their shows to be boring. I remember watching in awe and just sitting back and enjoying the show. I knew everyone else was fighting for second place. But that didn't make Marcus's shows any less incredible and exciting to watch. 

This is of course a matter of opinion. You don't give parameters for your request--the top 10 this year? The top 10 based on overall results?
 
That being said, I'll take a whack at it based on which bands consistently make finals at BOA San Antonio over the past 5-ish years.
 
In no particular order the top 9 would be:

Marcus
CTJohnson
Reagan
the Woodlands
Vandegrift
Leander
Flowermound
Hebron
Cedar Park
 
Those 9 have been the most consistent in the past 5 years and/or more. I think you could make a good case for any of the following bands to take the #10 spot:

Hendrickson
James Bowie
Keller
Round Rock
LD Bell
Cedar Ridge
 
And then you have, based on the latest season, the "ones to watch" which in my opinion are:
 
Vista Ridge
Seven Lakes
Westlake 

What about Area 51?  Any word from them yet??  Rumor has it their show is out of this world!   I'll be here all week folks....tip your servers...try the veal!
 
 

My friend texted me.Her kid is in the Reagan band. She said,"We had a scare tonight. The guard bus was sideswiped by a hit and run driver on the way to the game. Fortunately no one was hurt!"
 
Thank the Lord for mercy! So scary. Grateful everyone is ok. I hope those kids take some Aleve tonight. I know I'm preaching to the choir here but hey! People out there on the roads! Drive safe!

My friend texted me.Her kid is in the Reagan band. She said,"We had a scare tonight. The guard bus was sideswiped by a hit and run driver on the way to the game. Fortunately no one was hurt!"
 
Thank the Lord for mercy! So scary. Grateful everyone is ok. I hope those kids take some Aleve tonight. I know I'm preaching to the choir here but hey! People out there on the roads! Drive safe!

I love Churchill and root for them every year. Sadly for them, I think you're right on. It's a solid show and they perform it well. I loved having the band kids come up to the stand to sing and the band sounds really good and they're marching it cleanly. But the GE isn't there in terms of the overall design of the show. Edited to add that I do think they can make finals at Houston.

Churchill, Reagan, and Johnson have all dealt with lots of water the past week. Yes, it's a lot of water. But we're not talking Harvey levels of adversity here. 
 
And I'm sure they all did what most band directors do when they deal with a lot of rain during their prime marching time--they move it indoors and work on perfecting their sound. It's not ideal, but it's not really "adversity." 
 
It's more like "temporary setback." 

Every year I hear/read discussion regarding props. They're expensive, they're pricing out bands that might otherwise be competitive, do you like them, do you not like them, can a band win GE without them, etc. etc. etc.  Keeping those discussions of the past few years in mind, that's why I am really hoping to see Reagan in the top 5 or even the top 3. I would love to see a band prove that you can still win it all in San Antonio without props--just straight up music, drill, and guard. That's why I love Reagan's show this year as I mentioned in another thread--it's stripped down and yet innovative and fresh and raw. The kids are their GE and I'm loving it.  But GE and what it means to a judge has always been sort of a mystery so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Reagan getting some love from Jennifer Morrison of Once Upon a Time. Learned some stuff I didn't know about their show:
 
https://www.facebook.com/JenniferMorrisonOfficial/posts/10154785076918689

Reagan getting some love from Jennifer Morrison of Once Upon a Time. Learned some stuff I didn't know about their show:
 
https://www.facebook.com/JenniferMorrisonOfficial/posts/10154785076918689

Reagan getting some love from Jennifer Morrison of Once Upon a Time. Learned some stuff I didn't know about their show:
 
https://www.facebook.com/JenniferMorrisonOfficial/posts/10154785076918689

Reagan getting some love from Jennifer Morrison of Once Upon a Time. Learned some stuff I didn't know about their show:
 
https://www.facebook.com/JenniferMorrisonOfficial/posts/10154785076918689

Yes, Mr. Video used to be the vendor that made the DVDs of the competitions that BOA used to sell.

I'm going to be the dissenter on Reagan.
 
I sat through many bands this season performing at a high level with great sound and clean marching and I kept thinking, surely these shows can beat Reagan.  Then Reagan comes on and their music blows me away. The music itself is fresh and the kids are performing it at such a high level. Having been involved in band for a very long time, I am quite picky about singing in a marching show and how it's presented.  If I find myself watching the singer and not the band, then I have a real problem with that. That hasn't happened for me with Reagan's show and I think they've struck a good balance.  I wouldn't describe it as " a musical."  I would describe what the Reagan team has put together as more of a soundtrack--a soundtrack I'd put in my playlist and listen to again and again like any well crafted piece of music.
 
That being said, I think there's something to the argument that if you have 2-3 bands who all perform at that same high level--great sound, clean show, great overall general effect--it may in the end just come down to the personal preferences of the judges. At the end of the day, that's the "X" factor that's hard to account for.