Leaderboard

We urgently need to sing more "Rain, Rain, Go Away"!!!!! Rain, rain, go away, Come again another day. Marching band wants to play, come again another day. Sun, sun, out you stay, Warm us up for all the day. Marching band wants to play, Warm us up for all the day!

I did some digging on the 5A Varsity DISD bands: I'm optimistic about Adamson. They've added a new director and got 1s on stage and sightreading for the first time in a long time. I hope to see this translate to the field. Bryan Adams will be pulling up to the stadium for sure. They're probably one of the best programs in DISD and are no strangers to Superior ratings. Honestly, these guys along with McKinney North are among my favorites to watch. They're so jazzy and snazzy! Hillcrest and Thomas Jefferson have been struggling ever since the October 2019 tornado and COVID. I hope to see these two return to their former glory eventually, but I don't see it happening this year. Wilson and Sunset could pull it off. They get 1s on stage and sightreading and were close to advancing to Area last year. Molina got an entirely new director halfway through last year and he turned them from a program constantly earning 4s and 5s into a program that got 1s on stage and sightreading in his first few months of being there. I'm happy for these kids and excited to see how they'll perform on a football field with this new and competent director.

It's my intention to be at both prelims and finals to make some commentary like I did for BOA Waco. Without the live blog, communication essentially comes down to Joe Q. Public. As I said elsewhere, I'm a neanderthal by comparison to the education of many people on here, so I'm glad that people found the commentary tolerably read-worthy (or at least fodder for your amusement). We'll be using a different division of labor so show design/content will get better represented and you won't have to listen to me gripe about music ensemble all day. Okay, enough of that. I think right now there are actually about as many unknowns as there were when the season started. Although one or two things that were ambiguous pre-season have clarified by now, still several things that seemed stable pre-season have become ambiguous. Some thoughts: -The band I feel surer about predicting than pre-season is Midlothian. As someone said, they've demonstrated that they're not a "one-hit wonder." No, they rather seem to be a many-hit wonder. -The band I feel least sure about placing is definitely Colleyville Heritage. I can't even say whether I would or would not put them in finals (and the ever-increasing number of possible finalists doesn't help). A spot in finals at STL would have reduced a lot of ambiguity. I really think, though, that once finalists are announced, as well as state advancers, then then I'll be able to tell you whether I think CH is a finalist and/or state advancer. -In terms of the data we have, BC (and maybe Grapevine) is the most consistent band in this area this season. So, I don't think it's necessarily a hot take when @Tubalord11 suggests Centennial can take it this year. However, they've been stationary against a volatile and changing field; if the field as a whole is shifting up, BC will come across as flat -- not flat as in missing state, but 3rd-4th place flat. But if the field as a whole has not shifted up, then I think the chances of them taking 1st greatly improve, and we could see that 1st place prediction materialize. -Richland's early season scores are all over the place, and they're the only competitions we really have data from until area. I lack the competent authority to divulge their shadow placement for BISD, but that plus some other factors leads me to infer that they are universally positional at this contest. -Birdville's scores have also puzzled me. Their early season scores could be interpreted as giving them a vector landing them in the top 5. But the DMI rankings make me hesitate. DMI is a contest which should recognize the strengths of their program quite well, and so I was wondering how high they would rank -- especially given their music competitivity at Don Hanna. But neither of those factors seemed to prevent them from getting a bit buried at DMI. Even with their draw order carried over from prelims, I would have expected them to be around fifth or higher. It's too bad DMI was a one-march contest, since that would have helped clarify the impact of the draw order. -Grapevine is actually pretty consistent this season. Being over Duncanville at BISD and then being over Boswell (in addition to being 2A champion) at Waco are good signs for them. I don't think it's unreasonable to wonder whether they will end up being a state advancer. -I think BOA Waco showed Aledo to be vincible. So, while they are the historical favorite for 1st, it's not something to be gainsaid. I feel less confident about predicting their placement than pre-season. I suppose my guesses as of now for state advancers are, not necessarily in order, Aledo, Grapevine, Richland, BC, and Midlothian. But Birdville could very well end up in the mix, or possibly even CH, but probably not both. After that, who will make finals? I have no clue. It's a pretty crowded bubble.

1. Wakeland (between them and Lone Star for the win) 2. Lone Star (might be the best Lone Star band to date and could potentially medal at state) 3. Lebanon Trail (they are on a tear this year after what happened to end last year, and I think they could be top half at state) 4. Argyle (very close between them, Reedy, and Walnut Grove, but I feel like Argyle will end up clutching up like they did last year and make state again) 5. Reedy (amazing year for them so far, and they have gone from not even making area finals to being a legit threat to make state in the span of 1-2 years) 6. Walnut Grove (excellent year for them so far after winning POC and doing well at BOA Prosper against many bands in this area, and it's crazy to think that this school is only in its 3rd year in existence) 7. Independence (one of the best years to date for them after missing area finals for the last 2 years, and honestly could be a dark horse to make state) 8. McKinney North (they have some of the funnest shows that are always a joy to watch, and if they clutch up, could retain their state spot) 9. Liberty (had a good showing at BOA Prosper, which included beating McKinney North, and they have gotten so much better over the last few weeks) 10. Heritage (don't know what happened at region with a judge giving them a 2, I assume it was a fluke, but this band has been getting excellent over the past few years and did well at McKinney, and they could surprise some people by placing higher than people expect)

Just gonna paste my comment from another post here as it pertains to this area: I did some digging on the 5A Varsity DISD bands: I'm optimistic about Adamson. They've added a new director and got 1s on stage and sightreading for the first time in a long time. I hope to see this translate to the field. Bryan Adams will be pulling up to the stadium for sure. They're probably one of the best programs in DISD and are no strangers to Superior ratings. Honestly, these guys along with McKinney North are among my favorites to watch. They're so jazzy and snazzy! Hillcrest and Thomas Jefferson have been struggling ever since the October 2019 tornado and COVID. I hope to see these two return to their former glory eventually, but I don't see it happening this year. Wilson and Sunset could pull it off. They get 1s on stage and sightreading and were close to advancing to Area last year. Molina got an entirely new director halfway through last year and he turned them from a program constantly earning 4s and 5s into a program that got 1s on stage and sightreading in his first few months of being there. I'm happy for these kids and excited to see how they'll perform on a football field with this new and competent director. Hope these DISD guys do well and allow for more state spots to open up.

I've finally taken the time to look through the panels a bit closer. There are so many strong groups in both panels that deserve a shout-out. Even those that I didn't include are going to be awesome and could have some big surprises, but I do think that all of the top 30 or so will come from this list. Panel 1: Wylie East Cinco Ranch Round Rock Rouse Claudia Taylor Johnson John B Alexander Wylie Keller Midlothian Timber Creek The Woodlands Cedar Ridge Wakeland Leander College Park Argyle Aledo Dripping Springs Flower Mound Panel 2: Cedar Park James Bowie Moe & Gene Johnson Westlake Bridgeland Braswell McNeil Ronald Reagan Vandegrift Vista Ridge Westwood Lake Travis Hebron Cypress Woods Pearland Cy-Fair Friendswood McKinney Seven Lakes Dawson Here is what I think will be the top 10 in each panel and which ones will make finals: Panel 1: Flower Mound The Woodlands Wakeland Cedar Ridge Rouse ----------- Keller Dripping Springs Wylie Leander Claudia Taylor Johnson/ Round Rock Panel 2: Vandegrift Hebron Vista Ridge Cedar Park Ronald Reagan ------------ Pearland Moe & Gene Johnson Seven Lakes James Bowie Westlake/ Cy-Fair/ Bridgeland I named 23 bands here. It's crazy to think that some of them will inevitably have to place in the 20s, and that is disregarding the fact that Marcus, Coppell, LD Bell, Prosper, Lone Star, and so many other great groups won't be here. In regard to the panel balance, I could see all 4 groups coming from Panel 2, but I think it is natural for the scoring to be more balanced between the panels, even if the quality is a bit more skewed toward Panel 2. For this reason, I think Panel 1 will get at least six in finals.

Keeping a VERY close eye on this topic going forward. It's just band. Relax.

Freeman Loved the flute soloist. Great music and visual. Those props are also fire. Loved the guard stuff. That low brass trio was 🔥🔥🔥 especially the trombone part (obv bias) To bad they don't go to our area.

Here’s my predictions with some short and sweet explanations Super locked in picks 1. Dawson (I just prefer this over Pearland) 2. Pearland (Visually superior than Dawson but not as musically great) 3. Dickinson (Great show super clean and satisfies the UIL rubric 100 percent) 4. SFA (Really visually hard and musically even with their size they are really good) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Unsure picks 5. Pasadena Memorial (I wasn’t convinced on even finals, but i remembered a comment about how they get clean really late and it’s coming together for them nicely I’m not sure tho) 6. Foster (If Pasadena Memorial is still unclean this is definitely a state contender wonderful design and great music composition 7. Clear Brook (This show isn’t really clicking with me for some reason state percussion and guard but the rest ehh) 8. Clear Lake (They are pushing the sound with their size it’s awesome but visually not there yet) 9. Elkins/George Ranch/Clements (I genuinely can’t decide with these guys) 10. Fulshear (Haven’t watched it) Disclaimer I ain’t a judge and even I’m really unsure about the last 6 picks so I’m taking a chance on them

ts gotta be rage bait 😭😭✌️

I feel like these predictions were made in 2022

😭 Please move it to Monday I don't want to go to school....

Here’s my prediction 1. Waxahachie 2. Sachse 3. Forney 4. Rockwall 5. Duncanville 6. Rockwall Heath 7. Lake highlands 8. JJ Pearce 9. North Forney 10. Richardson

My Predictions! 1. Wakeland 2. Lone Star 3. LT 4. Argyle/Reedy 5. Reedy/Argyle/Walnut Grove 6. Walnut Grove/Reedy 7. Liberty/McKinney North 8. McKinney North/Liberty/Independence 9. Independence/Liberty 10. Emerson What an area!!! I can't wait to march next week. Lets address the elephant in the room. McKinney North!!! What happened I know there's ALOT of drama with the rezoing down at the district level. This might be McKinney Norths final area B which is exciting for them but about to end it off with a bang? I LOVE LOVE LOVE their show this year. OMG that singer has a FUTURE! I just don't see them doing hot this year which maybe because of director change, 6A looming, community drama, who knows? I think reedy COULD make STATE I wouldn't bet on them making it. I could see LS beating Wakeland but it might be personal preference.. lol LT is looking for blood and after last year and they found it. Can't wait for next week!

I finally was able to watch the video of SGP and I really loved it! I think they have a great chance to be in finals. I'm a little concerned that they get pretty close to playing too loud at times, past the point of it being as pretty, which can cause issues with their intonation. Being in finals with a chance to go to state, that is a concern I could see with the adrenaline and excitement especially at this event. It sounds like they have an awesome director though so hopefully they are helping them prep for that. Overall, I think it's really cool to see their rise over the past few years.

I think even with the forces working against them, MN will have a killer performance with their incredible woodwinds and guard. and earn that 4-5th place they have been crowned the past few years. And I think again the colony is criminally underrated with their visuals and very difficult music and drill along with their wgi level guard. Unfortunately at birdville it wasn’t the cleanest but with two weeks to work on it and no fb game they can come out guns blazing and do a lot better than people are expecting. Gonna be a great comp and it could really go anywhere.

my top 4 predictions for this EPIC area comp 1. Berkner band 2 Mighty Ram Band 3 MRB 4 the big band thee mighty ram band

We got this bread 🫡 Canyon won 2021 prelims going first. Just have to have a knockout run and let the rest of the day take care of itself.

You can also check results as they come out on texas music forms https://www.texasmusicforms.com/marchrptuilpublic.asp

Let’s hope none of em are ADHD lol

Idk that I can give a full 10 because most of these shows I’ve only seen live once. But for the ones that I have I think the undisputed #1 is Waxahachie that’s a no brainer. You want an amazing clean sound, with amazing drill and visuals that’s Waxahachie. And I believe that’s with a new director too so that’s actually really amazing. I can see them making state finals (Saw them live twice) #2. Forney, big band, great sound, judges love them lol #3. Sachse. Even though their show to me was 🫤 I can’t deny that they looked and sounded good. Their drill is what stood out to me the most, I liked it better than the music. Last years show was amazing so I guess TO ME the whole retro theme was a bit underwhelming. BUT I bet the judges will love it because again sound quality is amazing! #4. One of the Rockwalls, probably the orange one. Only seen them once but based off of their competition results, they’re the better one of the two as they bested Heath in those competitions but not by much. So a not so good run by them and a better run by Heath could put them in 5th #5. Heath, they’ve tailed the orange band all season, will they finally make the push to put them ahead? We will soon find out. #6. Duncanville, I’ll get to see them live on Friday 2nd time (weather permitting). Something tells me they’re not going to go away quietly. I could see them making the jump. Honestly I think it needs to happen for the sake of their program. Is that the pressure that’s just too much for them? Is it what is distracting them? new director, high expectations, a district looking to appease the crowds, lots of drama there. Theyre picking the absolute worst time to have an “off” year. #7-10 I’ve only seen Berkner once and that was early September, haven’t seen Richardson or JJ Pearce but it sounds like they’re top 10 finishers based off of the forums. Big time sleepers for the 10th would be John Horn a run like they had at the Midlothian finals and theyre in. North Garland possible?. North Forney cool snake, do they belong higher on the list? Probably, they were grand champs at royse city after all but I haven’t seen enough of them to justify where to place them, what’s Rowlett been up to? Maybe a Royse City? The bottom half of the 10 to me could be anyone.

No one else is singing with you. fortunately it looks like your singing has made it to where most of the rain will be in the morning but we NEED more of this. Rain, rain, go away, Come again another day. Marching band wants to play, come again another day. Sun, sun, out you stay, Warm us up for all the day. Marching band wants to play, Warm us up for all the day! SING IT WITH ME THIS TIME!!!! A 1 A 2 A 1 2 3 4 Rain, rain, go away, Come again another day. Marching band wants to play, come again another day. Sun, sun, out you stay, Warm us up for all the day. Marching band wants to play, Warm us up for all the day!

This might only be the case for World Class (as in you have to choose to compete in World Class, otherwise you're assigned a Group)? I found the following breakdown here: https://usbands.org/about/

Absolutely no one expected them to win and beat Wax last season, either. I love your confidence and conviction, and while Sachse may not be on the same level as they were last year (and Wax is arguably better, conversely), it isn’t wise to discount ANY program here. We know from experience that anything can happen.

idk here's an academic research paper about the aftermath of the khmer rouge AFTERMATHS (1).pdf

Maybe see the Wylie schools get mixed around

I appreciate it. I want to view last years placements before giving a full prediction

i agree with this. Dville just doesn't seem like they can do higher than 6th this year

I absolutely hate the idea of using that facility. You are correct, the judges cannot get up high or sit back a bit from the band so that the sound blends when the band is spread out. And of course, no crowd energy either! They should just schedule an alternate rain out day like the other areas. I don’t think any of the directors want to use it. I think last year they all agreed they could work around rain delays to at least get a prelim round in. I would prefer that plan again.

The schedule will be out by EOD today. We still have two more bands to compete at Region, and their results will be announced at 2:00. Speaking of which, wishing the best of luck to Tarkington and Shepherd today! It's up to the two of them to bump the numbers up to 35. Area A did it, so I think Area C can do it too. Tarkington's at 1:30, Shepherd's at 1:45, and their results will be released at 2:00.

Unfortunate for their percussion to do great and then tear there towards the end. If they do that they're definitely out of contention for the caption this Saturday and it could very well cost them a state spot. Brass sound pretty powerful, but have a little edge in some spots, I'm sure they'll get it right in the pocket come Saturday. Their woodwind choir balance is awesome and they sound really confident. I think their woodwinds could be their highest scoring caption (if percussion tears). Visually they look much better than they did at Prosper but still need to clean the last 60 to 90 seconds of their show. I think most of these things could be easy fixes, hardest thing to clean will be visuals, but if they really want that state spot, and work hard for it over the next few days, I definitely think they could make it.

They have always had some cool concepts!

Nothing to apologize for, it is a prediction based off opinion after all! This is probably one of the most volatile areas for 5A, so there’s really no way to predict what will happen at any given moment

Reedy is a sleeper here people yall gotta watch out for them 👀👀

Tis one day closer

cmon guys peace and harmony lets all be nice ❤️‍🩹

their visual demand is very high and they are a pretty small band that march a lot of freshman, I don't blame them for not getting very loud

5 bands are advancing to State!!!!!!!! Snyder has recieved all 1's!!

SGP they've been cooking in the kitchen

These are my predictions 1. wakeland - amazing show, i love the horn trumpet duet of creep its majestic 2. lone star - heard them warming up and they have INSANELY crunchy chords that made me tear up 3. lt - obv. love their brass, esp the mellos 4. mckinney north - their show gave me goosebumps although i thought it felt a little repetitive/similar to last year with the solos 5. reedy - their show is REALLY cool and has a lot of personality. old memorial director did a good job with them. they do have some foot timing issues.... 6. argyle - no comments. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 7. independence - wall of sound ahhh school 8. walnut grove - i feel bad placing them so low but i couldnt decide between the other bands. this area is just so good 9. emerson/heritage 10. heritage/ emerson

I see where you're coming from. However, in just one year, reedy went from going two years consecutively not making finals, to jumping up to 6th place last year. same thing we saw with liberty going from many spots away from finals into 7th. yes, the odds of previously top 5 finishers making those spots again is high, but we shouldn't rule out anything especially given rankings in other contests and just the sheer competition that this area brings. the top three have usually been locked in for state, but there has been volatility between 4-7 in the past and I believe it will be no different this year.

Okay, so after seeing Duncanville’s run from DMI, I still think they have a small chance at state. I see why they’ve been placing where they have. But they were very clean this weekend. I could be completely wrong, but after watching that performance, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re higher than what we’re thinking.

I personally would not place Birdville that low or Colleyville that high

This is one of those areas were the data is present for a majority of these head to heads, but I still feel there could be a major shake up come area day. Finalist predications in alphabetical order with state advancement predictions bolded: Brownsville Hanna HS Harlingen HS Laredo Alexander HS Laredo United HS Los Fresnos HS PSJA HS Weslaco HS

I know some people think that Lone Star could possibly beat Wakeland but I honestly just couldn't see it. I LOVE their show but maybe not this year, but I could definitely see it being a possibility in the near future. North has had quite the fall off compared to last year, even getting 20th at BOA Prosper was quite surprising to me, and I know that they had a worse than usual run, but I've noticed their show is overall not as clean as years past. I could definitely see them continuing to go down hill after their director change last year and could see it to continue even more with the possibility of them moving up to 6A. This competition is really starting to get stacked from top to bottom this year as these bands are continuing to get better and better, especially Lone Star and LT. I can't wait to see how it will turn out! All that said here are my predictions: 1. Wakeland 2. Lone Star 3. LT 4. Argyle/Reedy 5. Reedy/Argyle 6. Walnut Grove 7. Liberty 8. McKinney North 9. Independence 10. Emerson

Have no issue with spirited discussion but not going to let the forum descend into some of the language I had to take care of earlier. Discuss and argue away, but the second it turns into inappropriate language or mean spirited attacks on programs. We don't do that here.

Area & State Finals is split into top/bottom half starting in fall of 2024. The official documentation is under a past marching band committee meeting agenda notes on the UIL website.

Could be a hot take but I think Centennial takes it this year

Anyone else starting to think this dude goes to rock hill or just me 😭

I really enjoyed Broken Arrow's show from St. Louis. I get steampunk playground vibes from the costuming -- top hats with goggles -- and the cogwheels on the monkey bars. I love the colors with the white and gold on the band and reddish hues of the guard. The whole thing is very complex and layered, like the inner workings of a clock. I don't love it quite as much as last year's more evocative production, but I was consistently entertained from moment to moment and can acknowledge some of the quirky musical risks they take. Bentonville was very, very strong. I don't know if I would have had them ahead of Blue Springs, personally, but it's not some big shocking thing. The effect of the black and white costumes is very cool, especially when they turn in sequence, but like any effect, the more you use it, the less effective it gets -- at least in my mind. I actually think the concept is the most interesting part of the show, with the DNA motifs and sequins/sequence riffs. The ballad was beautiful, too.