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Figured I'd share this here- we're sitting at less than a week from this comp. This spreadsheet is how I've been tracking bands over the past few weeks. Tons of bands that are very neck-and-neck, and a good few more that I haven't seen any show footage of. If anyone wants/needs me to change something on the spreadsheet, let me know. Super excited to see how Conroe is gonna pan out! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RM9LSfyrOQfsAdTyK-1f5xG6Z36sMFSftvvxhJUG-Vo/edit?usp=sharing Also gonna add that I have way too much time on my hands outside of rehearsal and practicing for region band so if any of y'all want me to make a similar spreadsheet for another competition I'd be down!

This right here. Saying that it's preordained does a disservice to the hard work that students in every program put in day after day. It's true that the top 4-6 bands in the metroplex hasn't changed much in the last 8 years or so, but that's because those same 4-6 bands have also gotten BETTER. FloMo, Hebron, Marcus, Keller, Coppell etc. today are WAY better than FloMo, Hebron, Marcus, Keller, Coppell, etc. from 10 years ago. To catch them, a program has to make a huge leap. Waxahachie and Prosper are great examples. Both were smaller 5A bands not too long ago, and with hard work and great community support they made the big leap and have been SMC Finalists and GN Finalists respectively. It can be done!

This contest was simply epic. I just got home a little while ago from my 9 hour drive back from Austin and I just wanted to share a few of my own observations. Vandegrift. I often get gut feelings about things, and after seeing all of prelims yesterday, I was absolutely convinced that Vandegrift was the winner of this contest. They just have something really special happening right now, and they totally blew me away with this incredible show. I’m glad the judges agreed with me. Reagan. I sure was excited to finally get to see this show live, and it didn’t disappoint. While I can sort of see what some of you are saying about it seeming like a regeneration of 2019, I think some of that is just because all of their shows have a similar feel to them. And I think it’s really an amazing thing that they are doing at Ronald Reagan high school, and I have no complaints about them continuing to do these types of shows. If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Claudia Taylor Johnson. This year’s show is such a great example of what CTJ does so very well and why this formula works for them. They are truly a “Broadway show” style high school band and they do that style exceptionally well. And even when they have disastrous electronics issues, (or a massive prop in the wrong place), this incredible group of students just knows how to perform the HECK out of a show no matter what. I am just flabbergasted at their ability to adjust on the fly. And dang it, I just really like this show! Cedar Park. Wow…the improvement in the band and in the guard since their disappointing 2019 BOA season is just phenomenal. I absolutely felt like they deserved fourth place right behind the Big 3 yesterday, and I can totally see another 5A state championship in their near future. Great job by the Timberwolf Band! This show is superb! Leander. So much improvement in the last few weeks. This show has really grown into a real favorite of mine! And I love what a happy “feel good” production it is. And that ballad absolutely makes me weak! It’s just a fantastic show and I know it will only get better. I can’t wait to see it in the Alamodome at the Super Regional! Rouse. I really feel so proud of these kids and I love how they are neck and neck with Leander and Cedar Park at every contest these days. What on earth will happen at state?! I predict a 5A medal of some sort for this incredible band. Gold? Silver? Neither would surprise me anymore. What a fantastic group of kids! Bowie. Again, so much improvement from these kids. I loved seeing them do well here yesterday. I know the future is bright for the Bowie HS band and they are resilient. They’ll always be a personal favorite of mine. Hendrickson. Wow, wow, wow this show is night and day better than it was a few weeks ago. And speaking of night, did you see all those cool lights on the arches?! What a fun show! Hendrickson is back, baby, I can just feel it! Weiss. Can’t get enough of this over the top production by the incredible Weiss band! I hope they’ll add a little more to it before San Antonio because it feels a little short, but maybe that’s just because I didn’t want it to end?? Brandeis. I was so happy to see the Brandeis band at this contest and for them to make finals! I bet we will continue to hear more about this great band in the coming years. I’m so happy we keep getting more San Antonio bands at this great contest. Now JP Stevens just needs to come back! Georgetown. Another super fun (and electrifying ?) show by the Eagle Band! And those new uniforms under the lights last night were just stunning!! I really do enjoy this band so much and I always look forward to seeing what they’re doing every season. Just truly a great band who obviously enjoys performing incredibly entertaining shows! John B Alexander. I’ve been so excited to see this show ever since I heard they were making the trip to Austin! And I was absolutely thrilled when they made finals! I know they weren’t expecting that, and the kids were just so happy to be there. The ‘Are We Alone?’ show is just so good and so typically JBA. They really do shows that make you think, although this one is definitely a more lighthearted approach than past years. I really enjoyed it! On another note, I was invited to spend some time with the JB Alexander band students last night and I was just so thrilled to do so! The students there just have an incredible desire to learn and grow from watching bands like Reagan and Vandegrift and CTJ, and that was one of the biggest reasons that they attended this contest. I loved sitting with them as they watched and were amazed by the performances they saw from these three bands. I wish you all could have heard their enthusiasm and respect for these amazing groups, and I truly do hope that any students who are fortunate enough to be part of a program like Vandy, Reagan and CTJ truly appreciate the status they have achieved and that they don’t ever take it for granted. Success like that also comes with responsibility, and I do hope the students in these programs, and others like them, know just how much they are being looked up to and that they don’t take that lightly. And if you aren’t fortunate enough to be a part of a band like one of these, then maybe consider what you can do to improve the success of the program you are affiliated with. Practicing your instrument and your technique every single day is a start. Being a positive influence on the other students in your program is another. Encouraging your directors to take you to contests where you can witness what the truly successful bands are doing is yet another. Everyone has to start somewhere and no program becomes highly successful by chance. I love that the JB Alexander band is such a great example of what it’s like to be both humble and grateful for what they have, yet always yearning to learn everything they can in order to become a program that is as successful as those mentioned above. May we ALL remember to be humble and grateful every single day for the blessings we’ve been given, and to never take those for granted.

Just PLEASE don’t forget to only use it between bands and to close it before the next band begins their performance. This was a huge issue at BOA Austin!

They’ve historically had a great relationship with the Westlake program, and this marching contest, for decades now and perhaps they prefer this loyalty. I do agree that it isn’t as competitive, but for a long season, that can be okay.

If anyone would like a video of Hebron or FloMo from tonight, I gotchu

You're forgetting the most important parts. These are kids. Judges' feedback does not matter to a majority of them, what matters to them is if they're getting a good experience. This is still a good competition, they are still going to get good feedback. You act as if there are only 5 good judges in the world and they're all at TMC. There are plenty of people qualified to judge. If the kids have a good time at Westlake, then why care where they go? Not everyone has to be super competitive, you have to still provide an enjoyable experience for the kids. What's best for the kids isn't going to the toughest competitions, it's giving them good memories that'll last for decades. Most of them won't study music, so being in band won't have a large impact on their jobs, people join to do things they enjoy.

Yup, Saturday is what matters. Every band has been working to fix all the little things (and, in some cases, big things). It's all about execution now, and those who have worked on the right things and put in the work will likely have a good day on Saturday. Best of luck to all!

Hats off to all the schools which competed at the Westlake Marching Festival on October 9. A festival like this tends to get overlooked because of other, larger attended events. Akins, United (Laredo), United South (Laredo), Dripping Springs, Austin High, Connally, Round Rock, S.A. Clark There is a ton of history with this festival. A friend of mine competed here 30 years ago when he was in band. Great stadium and everyone really enjoyed the afternoon and evening. Round Rock ultimately won with a score of 90. But more importantly, we all spent a beautiful Saturday evening watching our kids do what they do best. There were some great performances by all the bands. It was ton of fun! It's easy to get into conversations about which band is going to finish in which place at what show. Hopefully we all remember to watch for the pure enjoyment and appreciate the hard work all the kids put into these performances. The accolades, awards, rankings are to be celebrated, but not the ultimate destination. Look at your pictures of your kids and you will see just how much enjoyment outweighs the score. Cheers to everyone involved! You all make it memorable!

Really? That’s interesting to me. I guess time will tell but I’m ready for another new face at the top. Or at least a familiar Texas one. ? I’m definitely ok with a TWHS gold medal repeat!

Hello folks!!! First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone who tuned in to the Live Blog for the Texas Marching Classic yesterday! We experienced some of the highest viewership ever which is incredible considering that the blog was its own separate link away from our BOA coverage! You all made that happen and I am over the Moon! Thank you!!!! Let me address some things that happened yesterday: - The reason for the long delay for Prelims results was because there was an issue with the tabulation software. All numbers were correct so nothing was compromised. The software wasn't spitting out recaps like it was supposed to so that's why we had to wait for a bit for results. I know this because I was in the room!!! I then left the room because fajitas were being served in the Press Box. YUM!!! - As far as I am aware, NO ONE was disqualified from yesterday's event. Everyone who performed is on the recap sheets and no penalties appear on the recap sheets. To start publicly throwing out rumors like this is incredibly damaging and irresponsible. If it continues, I'll start removing accounts. - Comments for the Live Blog now have to be approved before they appear publicly. After Prelims results, a few people could not handle what was announced and decided to chime in with colorful language. I'm not down with that. - I saw amazing acts of sportsmanship between the programs yesterday!!! It hurts to hear that a few outliers may have conducted themselves in a less than mature fashion. Hateful language has absolutely no place on this website and this activity. It's all love here. I'll talk more about the contest on my Cherry On TMC episode which will come out later this week. Until then, please take care of yourselves

The funniest part of this is Round Rock literally has a rehearsal today with Gary Markham, the Chief judge of Bands of America. But they aren't trying enough to get feedback ?

Honestly, if I’m having a bad day I pull that thread up because it’s not short of humor at allllll.

Sadly, I feel like a lot of people look over this. I know for me this was the case when we went to VRMF last week. We knew it wasn't going to be nearly as competitive as the other competitions we are attending, but we still had an incredibly enjoyable experience, especially after winning it. For a lot of kids, especially underclassmen, it was their first amazing memory of marching band that they got to enjoy and will look back on, and for me that's super important to me, especially as a senior.

Now that I’m back home from Austin, I wanted to express my thoughts on this incredible competition. I know I said it on Instagram, but this was the best BOA Austin I have ever witnessed, and I have seen them all other than the premiere year in 2012. I still can’t get over how fantastic everyone looked and sounded after such a stressful Covid break. Good for these kids for hanging in there and seeing it through! My best BandMom friend and I argued all afternoon about whether CTJ or Vandegrift was going to win after seeing both perform, and I told her it would be Vandy and she argued for CTJ. Seems the judges agreed with us because it was a very tight race between the two. Vandegrift put on such a lovely show as always, and I have to say it’s one of my favorites so far that they have done. The dance team looks TERRIFIC and I love the costuming they are wearing this season. It’s a very WGI look underneath those brilliant scarlet dresses and I am HERE for it! Go Vision Dance team! Y’all are just gorgeous and I’ll never complain again about the need of a guard for Vandy. Claudia Taylor came in and blew us all out of our seats in typical CTJ fashion, but I found them even more impressive than ever this year. They have the full show on the field as usual, but this time it was cleaner than I have ever seen them this early in the season! And the dueling pianos are an incredible feature that can’t be overstated. Wow those kids can PLAY! This show has GN medal potential written all over it! Good thing I’ll be there to see it when it happens. ? Can we talk about Rouse?! A bronze medal at AUSTIN?! That was unbelievable and I am SO thrilled for those kids. They really shot up talent-wise in the past few years and they have rightfully become yet another LISD powerhouse. How can there be so many in one district? The Rouse Band is making a real name for themselves and they are here to STAY! It was another tight race between the Cedars and the Ridges on Saturday, and I was really impressed with them all! Cedar Park is just huge now! Where did all those kids come from? I love it! And their new uniforms are SO sharp and that guard is looking SO good. I am just extremely happy to see Cedar Park making a well deserved BOA comeback after their disappointing 2019 season. Nearly the exact same things can be said for Cedar Ridge! Those purple uniforms are BEAUTIFUL. And their guard looks so sharp and impressive. I was so tickled to see this band making a comeback as well. And Vista Ridge! What a cool show. Talk about GE!! The Ranger band just looks and sounds phenomenal this year. Yes, they were a little messy on Saturday, but what they are attempting is pretty dang difficult and they will get it cleaned up over the next five weeks. It’s going to be brilliant by the time GN gets here and I can’t wait for Vista to have their debut in Lucas Oil Stadium! Leander, the band of my heart, oh how I really do like this show! I wasn’t sold on it back in August but after seeing it live Friday night and Saturday, I am ALL in! Yes, the guard is much smaller and definitely mostly inexperienced, but they have improved so much in a month, and the groovy costumes are SO fun. You can just absolutely tell that they are having a BLAST performing this show. And the Grateful Dead bear masks they throw on in the second movement are just an awesome touch as well. I love it! The band itself is obviously smaller than we are used to seeing, but their sound is just WOW! The woodwinds and percussion are stellar, the ensemble groups terrific, and how fun is that tuba solo?! But the trumpets and all of the brass, oh my! The overall sound in the ballad was pure bliss. I am not exaggerating when I say I was reminded of the Harloff Crown brass sound when Leander played the end of the ballad on Saturday. Chills. For. Days. I’m fully invested in this show and I just can’t wait to see it again in a few weeks! Westlake, Round Rock and Bowie were all very very good as well. Westlake looks so sharp in those colors. I just love those fluffy baby blue plumes, what can I say?! And they just sounded beautiful as always. Round Rock looks to be on their way to another great GN show, and we all know the Dragon Band will polish this thing up until it just SHINES in the Alamodome and in Lucas Oil. Bowie seems to very much be in the same boat as Leander. Smaller band and a less experienced guard than we are accustomed to seeing, but they are still Bowie, and they are still fantastic! I just love those kids and what they do, and I can’t wait to see them blossom throughout this season and next. Westwood! I love this show! Human Again is about Beauty and the Beast, and I am really anxious to see what they do with it in the coming weeks. It’s already a great theme, but I know they are going to add even more fun touches to it before the season ends. I love this band so much and always look forward to whatever wonky or highly entertaining theme they come up with. They sure know how to please a crowd! Last but not least, the Weiss band made Austin finals for the first time and wow, what a great show to do it with! I really appreciate the Golden persona Weiss has taken on with their themes of late, and The Age of Opulence really displays how good Weiss is at these kinds of over the top productions. This show is filled with GE moments and I think we will continue to see this amazing band making huge strides in the coming years. What an incredible weekend it was, and I am so grateful to have finally been able to spend another long, hot Saturday back in the stadium watching my favorite activity!!! Let’s do it again….oh, say, next week?! ?

Cy Woods coming out of NOWHERE! (At least to me). Wow!

Hi folks! Hope your day is wonderful. Just a quick reminder that any attempt to misrepresent yourself or slander any programs in an inappropriate way will result in account restrictions or a permanent ban. Post responsibly

I also had a tumblr sports blog for a while in college as a sports journalist. Absolutely clueless as to where the rest came from.

Oh noooo! I don't even wanna predict the toughest contest ever!!!

Here’s the results from the Don Hanna contest this weekend in Denton for any of you that were curious- https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ac7df315b409b2587f87b15/t/6165f5863ca18252c08972ad/1634071942432/DHM+2021+Finals+Results.pdf 1- Mansfield 2- Legacy 3- Frisco Centennial 4- Anna 5- Little Elm 6- Melissa 7- South Grand Prairie 8- Denton Guyer 9- Denton 10- Lake Dallas

Place Band 1 Cypress Woods High School 2 Oak Ridge High School 3 Clear Brook High School 4 College Park High School 5 Klein Oak High School 6 Porter High School Band 7 Klein Cain High School 8 Klein Collins High School 9 Cy-Fair High School 10 North Shore High School Caption Band Outstanding Music Performance Cypress Woods High School Outstanding Visual Performance Cypress Woods High School Outstanding General Effect Cypress Woods High School Outstanding Percussion Unit Cypress Woods High School Outstanding Auxiliary Unit Clear Brook High School

These results don't surprise me that much. Hebron is fantastic musically, but the show is a little safe from a design standpoint. Flower Mound is taking more risks for sure. I don't know if I like all of those risks, but they should be rewarded for them. FM's show also gives you those MOMENTS. That being said, given how awesome Hebron sounds, I could see that translating into music GE, so we could see some changes later tonight. I don't think there's a massive gulf between the two bands, personally.

Not all of these decisions are made with strategy in mind. Yes, Round Rock goes to the Westlake contest out of loyalty. Frankly, I admire them for that. The Westlake folks are awesome and run a great contest.

I also want to add, going to a competition like Westlake and winning is a good morale booster for the kids.

not sure why everyone gets so bent when someone makes a comment about strategy, I took a similar beating earlier this year when I made a comment about a program spending a great deal of money to go to Grand Nats but not attending any other BOA Events that year or even in the past few years. Every program uses a different approach and that is there right. but you would think that you would want to get another opportunity to compete in your back yard against some of the same programs you will see again at BOA-SA as well as in Indy and get comments from the adjudicators on the performance opinions so you can make adjustments before SA and G Nats. It has been mentioned that CTJ will be attending this year, this will be there first time here since 2012. Why? Because, while TMC is not a BOA Event it is mostly scored like one. 2 of the Music judges from BOA Austin will also be at TMC and it is a chance to see what they think of your progress over the past 2 weeks . and many of the same judges that are at TMC will also be at BOA-SA and more importantly at Grand Nats. so you want those comments now so you can adjust to their comments in hopes of elevating those scores at the later events scored by the same judges. I tried to make that same point with the beating I took earlier this year. if you are going all in to spend $400K to make a trip to Indy, you would think you would want to get your band in front of those judges as often as possible to get those opinions - especially if they will be judging you again later in the season. just my thoughts.

If any of my acquaintances with TWHS would be willing/able to send a link to a private/unlisted video of their performance after LSP finals I would greatly appreciate it! If not, that is ok too. I don't share the links without permission (as a few here know) so it won't go beyond me. Wish I could be there...

I'll give a shameless plug for the recaps on HornRank. They are sorted with ordinals which make it a little bit easier to digest. You can view them at http://hornrank.com/results

86.55. Now that's a scary score. All but one judge had TWHS above a 17.0, including the chief judge, who gave them a 17.6 in music ensemble. That's the equivalent of an 88. The individual visual judge straight up gave them a Box 5 score. 18.0. Thaaat may be a little inflated, especially, I think, when you take into account the relative lack of demand in the drill program, but it was quite clean. I think TWHS really Marcused the crap out of the competition here. They only had through their ballad on the field, but what they had was really well done and a really engaging, really eye-popping PRODUCTION. There's something to be said about a show that just makes perfect sense from start to finish and gets you on your feet. (That sure didn't look like a forced standing ovation at the end.) The drill from the beginning of the show, where those pre-show arcs break up into blocks and rotate into each other, and through the first movement, is absolutely wonderful. The depth of the staging here is really great, with the interplay between the back field flags, the weapons up front, and the drill from the band. There's an uncommon fluidity to that entire section that comes from the guard being able to perform longer and more complicated phrases. It really is kind of like watching a Carmel or Avon show. That should scare the crap out of their competitors. Now, I still think the visual drops off a bit in the second movement. Play with the drill in the side 2 woodwind block a little bit (Cell Block Tango Block), and still do something with the ending park and bark. There are also some stick-outs in the ensemble sound that I'm hearing in the webcast, particularly during the marching and playing parts and the tempo shifts. Assuming that it's not just the webcast, those need to be fixed. Other random suggestions: maybe throw some black curtains onto the props to make them look more like stages; you can do some cool reveal moments, if it doesn't destroy the look of the props too much. Paper over the wimpy opening stand tune bit with a brief "welcome to cabaret" voice over. I'd also like to hear the "what good is sitting all alone in your room" music bit at some point. To me that's the poignancy of this show. Now, do I think this is a potential championship show? Well, the score might make you think so. I'm not yet convinced. And the main reason for that is actually rather stupid. It's that the show doesn't quite have the gravitas (some would say self-seriousness) of the typical Eagle-winning show. In the past 20 years, I can only think of 2 National Championship shows where the overall tone of the show was this delightful. Those would be Carmel's first two national wins, 2005's Suspended Symbols and 2012's What A Tangled Web We Weave. Both were rather controversial wins as well. So there's a bit of a bias. Do I think it's possible? Yes. I just think it'll be hard.

Cy-Woods absolutely floored me! such clarity! and the red just POPS. Klein Oak and Seven Lakes as well! they were all obviously 80+ groups to my eyes and ears. i don't know if the Broken Arrow guy is working for any of them, but i thought maybe. i went in not expecting any of those groups to be as good as they were. i hope they keep it up! we need some more heavy hitters from Houston. i'm a TWHS alum, so very biased, but i also think i'm pretty picky and haven't really loved a Woodlands show in a few years. i'm also very snarky, so when they walked out, i turned to my mom and said, "Welcome to McDonalds." ("Oh, stop it!" with laughter.) the guard outfits, y'all. but good god they sounded and looked amazing tonight. i saw the prelims webcast, and i thought they were very good, but i wasn't jumping up and down. totally different experience live. so much more energy and volume and blend to that sound. and they perform with such poise and clarity. and with the weird colors in the lights, it was like walking into a dream. i was on my feet before the show was over. i've never done that for a Woodlands show before. really rousing stuff. TWHS' competitors are amazing this year. i have no idea where TWHS will end up after they get their closer on the field, but i don't really care. after a pandemic? jeez. i'm so proud of them!

All 1’s from region 26. Y’all I cried for Stony Point, McNeil and Hutto. They brought it and were amazing.

All 1s for Region 32.

Region 32 5A/6A - All 1s

It's called gerrymandering. ?

Is that true? I feel like I'm the only one saying that! Usually the question for the top Texas groups going up to Indianapolis is whether they can close a score gap in visual performance and visual GE via their music performance and music GE scores. I think it's entirely possible. That's what happened in 2019 for Vandegrift. Avon was first place in visual performance and visual GE, but music and music GE helped put Vandegrift over the edge. Let's face it, the musicianship from the top Texas groups is mostly unmatched. Avon, Carmel, and Broken Arrow are typically able to at least come close enough, but there aren't many others that can. The advantage those three groups have, then, is in drill rehearsal time, robust guard culture (for the Indiana groups), and amazing design teams, who absolutely understand the BOA rubric inside and out. I harp on visual and design stuff a lot on these forums, because I feel like that's the aspect of marching band that Texas directors have a little bit more trouble understanding. But I also think it's increasingly becoming a myth that Texas groups are stuck in the mud with regards to visual design. There really are a much larger number of groups taking design risks in Texas, which is heartening. This year in particular I'm just so happy we're getting any marching band at all. And the fact that it's being done at an extremely high level by so many groups is flat-out awesome. I applaud ALL of these groups.

Is it just me or is the top half bottom half split getting out of hand? I feel like there shouldn't have been that big of a score gap between Bell and Wakeland right?

Also can we talk about the Rouse rumor? Since when is that a thing? Why are we spreading unbased rumors. Not sure what that was about.

It seems I've been found out ?

It's a 5 hour drive from Flower Mound to San Antonio. If they perform on Friday evening, they would have to leave early Nov 5, and miss school to be able to be able to perform that evening. Then there's 1 night at a hotel, and the long day in San Antonio on Nov 6. 6A state is Nov 8 & 9, which means 3 more nights at a hotel and 2 more days of missed school. They get back home late Nov9/early Nov10. Then go to school on Nov 10. Grand Nats is Nov 11-13. They would likely perform Nov 12, which means they need to leave late Nov 10 or early Nov 11(if taking a bus), in order to have time to rest, recover, and rehearse. Another night in a hotel. Perform on Nov 12, and another night in a hotel. Perform Nov 13 then head home to arrive sometime Nov14. All told, if they go to BOA SA, they will be missing 5 days of school, and spending 6 nights hotels, and 3 nights at home or on a bus in the span of 10 days. If they skip BOA SA, then they cut out up to 3 nights of hotel, and save 1 day of school. And keep in mind that they all have to be fed during all of this. That's a lot of money, and strain on the families and kids

Oh and I don’t really have an opinion on Round Rock choosing Westlake over TMC. I think they’ve just always gone and supported the Westlake band with this festival and I know they enjoy the success they have had there all these years. It’s like a comfortable sweater. It might look less fancy than what the trendy folks are wearing, but it’s cozy and familiar, and it just makes you feel good to wear it. ? And at the end of the day, sometimes it’s just about the basics.

While the chances are low for Lumberton to make finals, I think they will impress many people!

Being happy is frivolous? I think not!? Shows about golf or pinball and the like strike me as frivolous, but trying to make people feel good is a good thing and can strike a deep emotional chord. I know on my personal front I find it heartening and certainly refreshing with what I've gone through this year.

Reagan has clearly not slowed down at all in the post-Morrison era. They look primed for a run at the Eagle in November.

So happy that I decided to stay in San Antonio for Band Week San Antonio. 5A is going to be spicy and I'll be glued to my seat for the entireity. The 3 LISD bands, Weiss, Highland Park, Wakeland, Lebanon Trail, Wylie East are my favorites for finals. Who knows how these shows are going to develop throughout the season but it is going to be epic and every bit as competitive as 6A.

I'm interested to see how Cy Woods and Klein Oak compare with Clear Brook here. Plus a few groups that we haven't really seen yet that can make a splash (I'm looking at you, North Shore)

They have the whole package! It was great tonight.

https://www.mhsband.com/results Basic recaps there if anyone wants to see. There were tabulation errors with the class A results (hence why Timberview won the class when they announce Cleburne won 3 of 4). Would not surprise me if that was the case with finals slots too. Final thoughts tonight before I turn out the lights, the more I think about it, the more I think you throw tonight’s results in the trash for predicting future results. I’m not sure what the scoring system is for this contest, but I know it’s not the UIL sheets and I’m pretty sure it’s not the BOA system either. Most valuable things bands can take from tonight are the judges comments. Oh well, glad that band is back and just as good as it’s ever been. Good luck to all of the groups this season!

Really impressed with Cypress Woods! The guard was quite strong and added a lot for me.

We just need to make sure the Freshman and Sophomore parents know about the site! I remember learning about it during my daughter's first competition. We have two classes of parents who have no idea what they are missing yet ? Oops, my quote didn't work ... I obviously don't post much, but I love love love reading everyone's comments!

Only a matter of hours until the first band takes the field tomorrow. Incredibly excited to see how tomorrow goes. Best of luck to everyone performing at both regionals tomorrow!

Yep! Common problem. If the guard directors are treated like throwaway employees, don't expect them to stick around! Oh, yes, very much so. I wasn't going to watch any of the junior groups this past WGI season, but I'm glad I did. McCullough JH was the winter guard equivalent of Henry Middle School's Honors Band. Like, is this really a middle school group?! That's how good they were. That said, I didn't think it would translate so quickly at the high school level. Assuming the last half of TWHS's show looks like the first, their guard will only be topped by Avon and Carmel in national finals this year, at least in terms of the depth of the skills. Granted, that was probably true in 2019 as well; it just wasn't as obvious. The lesson here: invest in your guard programs! They WILL elevate your visual program! Anyway, back to Austin...