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Great contest yesterday, I was lucky to see all of prelims and now my takeaways are made for my favorite shows: (sorry for the late post, some personal conflicts arose since Sunday morning.) Lone Star: Holy crap that opener is too powerfull. I like the content design/props very fitting. Could not find anything wrong with it. Got 2nd to Hebron which is still good for them considering they normally got first. Lebanon Trail: Amazing props and show. There was some balance issues but nothing hard to fix. Loved the soloists and overall music. They showed that they wanted the heat with Argyle by placing 3rd at prelims. Loved the rite of spring and hope they make state. Mckinney North: I owe this program a huge apology for dissing them to early. I honestly enjoyed the show a lot. Very dirty drill but it was very entertaining. Even though it is redundant I will acknlowledge it is more unique with the back props and staging. Although i am a little on the edge about that screamer trumpet playing random notes on the ballad. Which that vocalist needs a scholarship ASAP. Awesome singing for band. Crazy to hear they got 20th in music which is really bad for them. Wish them best. North Forney: What on earth is this comeback. Snake show was definetly one of my of my favorites from this comp, Very good music and execution! Drill and Props/Unis were spot on and deserve a good score this season! Braswell: My personal favorite from Saturday. Very cool show, theme and design was awesome. I loved the PBS logo looking props! Using BD 2023 as an opener is cool but using dci music the whole show is a little reduntant but still think they have a good shot at Area J top 5. Mckinney(RPB): Very cool show! Big sound and massive improvements dont have much to say about them but wish them the best. Argyle: Honestly this show is very clean for early season, I just dont like the wheat props very generic but besides that, great sound and visuals and huge props to that tuba soloist who recieved the scholarship! They got great work so far! China Spring: Very cool show!! My favorite 4a show that day! I loved their sound and the props were really cool. Change is Everything closer was arranged pretty well for a 4a band! Hope they rock state this year! Memorial: Liked the overall design but not as visually clean as it used to be. Hope it improves but so far not bad! Lakeview Centennial: LOVED THiS SHOW SO MUCH!! Whole music was awesome and the design was also peak. Can not wait to see this develop! No comments besides good luck Hebron: After seeing the show finally Irl after all the leaks, I can see this winning state. It is musically clean early season and very good sound and visuals. Few induvidual mistakes but nothing bad. Very cool props but they have to finish them. Good that they won first annd think they will do well! Rockhill: Magnet show was great! Guard carried their score which was deserved as they were visually good. Loved this show Liberty: After seeing this since the Melissa fb game, It has definetly improved! Props and Music were really good and they might actually do great at Area and Prosper 2A! Celina: Good show scoring wise but I did not enjoy watching it to be honest. It will likely win state but it is not going to win crowd favorite. Loved the soloists and props though! James Martin: I missed most of this show because I was in the restroom but I could hear how great and loud they were!! Music was very cool and I can see this being really competitive! I wish I had seen them so anyone please let me know about thier show! Melissa: Wow this program has become competitive this year. Design in props and uniforms are so abstract and I dig it. Music was decently clean but visual descrapancies were very visible, some cleaning left needed but very cool concept. I also enjoyed the full ensemble stabs! Very big and sudden sound! Def a bubble band for Area B ----------------------------- There was a screamer from Robinson I think who was really good, fracked the opener but came in power in the ballad, idk much about that program but I liked the drill a lot. I feel like I missed a band or two but I can come back to it soon. My predictions were not to far off but this contest gives a lot of insight for upcoming contests like Mckinney, Area B, Sounds of Fall, BOA Prosper etc. Feel free to critize me or correct me if I am wrong

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I think we are slightly sleeping on Lakeview they beat little elm by couple places at Melissa

1. Avon 2. Tarpon springs 3. Hebron 4. Krum 5. Panther creek 6. IMG Academy 7. Carmel 8. Flomo (they're washed) 9. Keller 10. Blue Springs 11. McNeil 12. UTA Captions: Vista Ridge middle school sweep

A good show designer would never use the same piece for two bands who compete in the same division. They likely wouldnt use the same song for any two bands who have a chance of meeting at invitationals. It’s not a good look for a designer. The show designer often comes up with the theme, music, etc. it’s common to have a separate drill writer, although I know a few designers who also do drill. Sometimes the directors come up with the theme and collaborate with designer to create the final package. Other designers create multiple themes and try to sell them to different bands. For example, I know north Lamar’s theme from last year was turned down by a few other bands beforehand. Some programs hire separate people to do the guard work, percussion score, and even the choreo. If you are good at those things, it’s a great side gig.

They're really really bright at night. I found them to be pretty distracting. I liked the idea, I'm not sure about the execution. They have them sitting on the front sideline, but I think they would probably work better if they sat at the rear. Right now they're using just some standard, traditional static screens in the back, on rolling carts. I think they could push those all to the sides and run the digital screens at the back, without interrupting their drill too much.

1. Hebron/Flomo 2. Flomo/Hebron 3. Marcus 4. Prosper (have yet to see) 5. Mckinney 6. Wylie/Braswell 6. Braswell/Wylie 7. Wylie East/Boyd 8. Boyd/WE 9. Rock Hill 10. Plano East/Lewisville

Here’s one over in Bastrop, that looks like it’ll be a fun one: 2A: Shiner HS Thorndale HS Weimar HS Ganado HS Rosebud-Lott HS Valley Mills HS 3A: Edna HS Franklin HS Hallettsville HS Troy HS Thrall HS Industrial HS Yoakum HS C. H. Yoe HS 4A: Manor New Tech HS Smithville HS Salado HS Taylor HS La Grange HS 5A: Elgin HS LASA HS Lehman HS Lockhart HS 6A: Manor HS Akins HS

Here are the preliminary and finals schedules, showing ten finals slots for competition.

Oh tubalord this is such a brilliant take! Everything that is revealed from your fingertips is so flawlessly executed!!

Celina will unfortunately will not be making finals this year at area and will miss out on state and will not be getting a 4 peat.

Happy contest eve! I'm nervous and so excited for this one! This is the first time I'm getting to see hard hitting bands like FloMo and Hebron. And, even if my band doesn't make finals, our director is having us stay through finals because he wants us to see some really talented bands tomorrow. See yall then!

Oh shoot we might be late, START PRAYING YALL!

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Schedule: 8:00 am – S. P. Waltrip High School (II) 8:15 am – George Bush High School (II) 8:30 am – South Houston High School (II) 8:45 am – Mirabeau B. Lamar High School (II) 9:00 am – Navasota High School (II) 9:15 am – Anahuac High School (II) 9:30 am – Baytown Lee High School (II) 9:45 am – BREAK 10:00 am – Dulles High School (III) 10:15 am – Heights High School (III) 10:30 am – Humble High School (III) 10:45 am – Clear Creek High School (III) 11:00 am – Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School (III) 11:15 am – Randle High School (III) 11:30 am – Aldine High School (III) 11:45 am – Porter High School (III) 12:00 pm – Goose Creek Memorial High School (III) 12:15 pm – INTERMISSION 12:45 pm – Ross S. Sterling High School (IV) 1:00 pm – Terry High School (IV) 1:15 pm – Bridge City High School (IV) 1:30 pm – Clear Falls High School (IV) 1:45 pm – Clear Springs High School (IV) 2:00 pm – Channelview High School (IV) 2:15 pm – BREAK 2:30 pm – Klein Collins High School (V) 2:45 pm – West Fork High School (V) 3:00 pm – C.E. King High School (V) 3:15 pm – Barbers Hill High School (V) 3:30 pm – Oak Ridge High School (V) 3:45 pm – Summer Creek High School (V) 4:00 pm – Magnolia West High School (V) 4:15 pm – Pasadena Memorial High School (V)

Reigning 2024 champion Pasadena Memorial will be back, but they will have competition with Oak Ridge, which will be attending this competition this year. Imo, Oak Ridge wins this.

Hannah finished 17th in 2006 (Ahead of Hebron and Cedar Park!) All that info is on the UIL Music website. Dunno why everyone is hyping Harlingen, not what they were. JBA isn't all that amazing (but their good) - they just are real real big and hype. They peak early and never really seem to continue to get better. LF sounds crazy good. I agree there's a lot of talent down in Area G - we all just need to keep trying.

In about the next decade or two I think we’ll see a surge in success from Area G. Hopefully soon we’ll get our first 6A state finalist. As far as I know Harlingen was the highest ranked of Area G in 2014 (21st in the state) hopefully soon another band or maybe them again in years to come. Area G is an untapped gold mine of talent recognition will come soon.

There is one thing your top 4 all have in common. Celina, PC, Davenport, Sulphur Springs are closing in on 1300 for HS enrollment. Some may already be at the 5A threshold. It will be an interesting realignment. It seems the large schools are dominating the top spots. Gatesville doing so well with HS enrollment in the 700’s has been impressive. I think Krum is also in the 700’s. North Lamar is in the 600’s .

i agree, 4-peat while competing against panther creek seems, tough to say the least

How many weaks out do we start the No Rain dance? Need to get this in on the scheduled day!

If I’m correct, Forney also plays the same opener as all three.

I’m hoping now that they’ve broken the barrier to SA finals maybe their early season can get an upstart too. That being said Keller and Vista Ridge never broke out of not peaking too early but then being super competitive later on.

Both could do very well if they do a run at their highest levels. Reedy is probably a safer bet to be higher but Emerson could very well get just behind these big 6A powerhouses or in the mix with an outstanding run

This year, it seems like a lot of bands have similar music. Ik Rockwall's opener and horn solo is the same piece as Panther Creek and Reedy's opener, and Reedy has the same ballad piece as Frisco as well (if I remember correctly from their showcase)

I think Dawson could do quite well here. I saw a couple weeks ago a clip and was very impressed. Could shock so people here maybe, very excited to see how they do

My hot take is that 7L is a 2nd half band. I've noticed in all the years there ok till they get to area time frame and really turn it up.

Yeah Monday morning there was a massive wave of bots spamming stuff trying to get people to call numbers.

Travis, George Ranch, Shadow Creek, Clear Brook, Fulshear, Dickinson, Clear Lake, Brazoswood, Foster, Dawson, Elkins, SFA, Ridge Point, Pearland

oh it's the Beatles mystery tour song, that's right.

i love when Hebron does fun!!! my fave hebron show by a mile is 2022. it had PERSONALITY!! imma like this one too probably. what is that Velvet Knights piece they play at the beginning?? i feel like i should know it!! good vibes. curious if those things they move around are done yet, prob will be bus related?? ofc they're slaying musically w/ their billions of notes again.

I am not sure if this is the most current schedule, though I haven’t found one myself. Nimitz’s Insta page says their prelims run is at 2:15 p.m., Poteet says their run is at 4, and HP has this contest on their calendar and they aren’t listed. I’ll keep searching! 🫠

This is awesome! Ik the kids are gonna love those tapes

Area finals predictions- 1. Pearland 2. Dawson 3. Clear Brook 4. Dickinson 5. SFA 6. Clements 7. Pasadena Mem. 8. Fulshear 9. Clear Falls 10. Clear Lake (5 and 6 interchangeable and idk too much abt 8-10) *feedback is welcome

Land of 1000 Tempo’s was a glorious mess last night at the LISD event but honestly, band for band I think it’s the most density of top quality bands of any event.

It's such a great event. Where else can you see 5 of the top 20 bands in the country for under $10. I enjoyed Glen's show as well, you can see the promise in that band. I hope they can get their numbers up so they can be competitive as well.

Here's my current predictions after this weekend... I know I placed Lone Star high but their show is different and probably one of the best they’ve put on the field... Something is definitely different about them.... 1st: FloMo (Vis,GE) 2nd: Hebron (Mus) 3rd: Coppell 4th: Prosper 5th: Wakeland 6th: Lone Star 7th: Timber Creek 8th: Wax 9th: Keller 10th: Aledo 11th: LD Bell 12th: Sachse/Wylie East

Even then I dont think its about that one spot anymore, its just trying to be the one who benefits from the eventual realignment of 6A B, C, and J, mainly because Prosper has been returning to prominence again and it doesnt leave room for Wylies, Braswell, and the McKinneys who would place in the 22-30 range in prelims. This is a 5A thread so Ill keep it short, but area J is pretty atrocious right now from a balance perspective. Prosper honestly might make state finals this year and I dont see that from anyone else here. The new judging system benefits content a lot more and Prosper is likely going to sweep WW and brass, and probably place 6th in percussion behind McKinney Boyd and like, Wylie? At worst. Visually they are easily the highest demand behind LISD, and they play and move the most on the move while being clean. 1-4 is locked imo, area J is a 5-10 battle right now with little to no chance for anyone breaking in. So hopefully realignment can move groups around (and put another state finalist band into area C). And Im not saying these good bands should be punished for being good. I just think that that area is much more effective when you have your clear state finalists, along with 2-3 slots that change in who earns them and represents more districts on average, rather than representing the same 1-2 districts year to year, which I thought was the entire point of area J.

I'm intrigued at how close KC and Forney were, especially in prelims. I had been wondering if KC would maintain momentum with their director change, and it looks like they are so far.

Aledo with the best time slot😭

Is Blue Springs suddenly way worse than they have been the past few years?! I'm surprised to see them predicted so low! Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if the top is an ABC fest again, although the B might be Blue Springs instead of Broken Arrow. I think I had Avon, Bentonville, Blue Springs, Broken Arrow, Carmel, Dobyns-Bennett, Flower Mound, Marcus, Reagan, Round Rock, The Woodlands, and William Mason as likely finalists when first glancing at the list. There's a little wiggle room there, but those would be my pre-season picks. FloMo, Marcus, and TWHS are the Texas ones with a chance of medaling, I think. But even that might be hard, given the competition. We shall see...

Hello TXBands community, My name is Brandon Foskett! I am a former TX band kid, where I attended Oak Ridge High School in Conroe, TX from 2015–2019 and was a drum major in the 2018 season that brought us the closest we've ever been to a shot at 6A State finals and BOA SA finals! I went on to pursue a music education degree at the University of Texas at Austin, but I quickly switched to a degree in music history after nerding out too much in my music "core" classes. I am now a PhD student in Musicology at UT Austin! I am still a band kid at heart, going to as many BOAs each fall as possible and still playing the TXBands Predictions game religiously (where I have ranked top 10 the past 2 years, although I think I will have to sit this fall season out for the following reason...). In addition to my music studies, I am also a member of Texas 4000 for Cancer, a 501(c)(3) organization that bikes 4,000+ miles from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska every summer to raise funds for cancer research and support services. As a part of the Texas 4000 for Cancer team, I am embarking on a transformative journey, and I would like as many people in my cherished "band family" to "ride along" with me. 50 of my teammates and I will pedal in the World’s Longest Annual Charity Bike Ride to spread hope and raise awareness of cancer in numerous communities in Texas, the US, and even Canada. Each mile we ride is a testament to our commitment to positively impacting the lives of those affected by cancer. I believe in the power of my "roots" and the power of collective action! Support from people like you can help me achieve some remarkable outcomes: Funding Critical Research: Your donation supports the summer ride and contributes to groundbreaking cancer research that can lead to improved treatments, early detection methods, and, one day, a cure. Supporting Patients and Families: Donations will also aid in supporting patients and their families as they navigate the challenges of cancer treatment and recovery. Spreading Awareness: Our journey is not just a physical one—it's a journey of raising awareness about cancer prevention, early detection, and the importance of a united effort. I would be honored if anyone in the TXBands "band fam" felt generous enough to make a donation to Texas 4000 for Cancer. Texas 4000 for Cancer has raised over $4 million dollars in the past 20 years alone, which I find pretty remarkable for a student-led non-profit. Any and every little amount makes a difference! If you'd like to join us in this endeavor, you can donate by visiting my fundraising page at https://secure.qgiv.com/event/2026teamfundraising/account/2032649-brandon2alaska. To learn more about Texas 4000 for Cancer, our mission, our impact, how to donate, and/or how to receive tax exemption documentation, consider visiting https://www.texas4000.org/ or emailing info@texas4000.org. To stay connected with my personal training journey, follow our progress, and witness the change you are helping to create, please consider subscribing to my newsletter updates at http://eepurl.com/je8Yo-/. Thank you for your time and consideration! Here's to a great marching season! To Alaska and back, Brandon L. Foskett Texas 4000 for Cancer 2025–26 team PhD Student, Musicology Butler School of Music, The University of Texas at Austin T4K Rider Info Flyer FOSKETT 2025-26.pdf

Here's the rankings I think will happen 1. Melissa (Brass, WW) 2. Allen 3. Rock Hill (Perc, CG) 4. Argyle The rest is very foggy for me, so no clue what we could see