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Well boy do I have some good news for you

Hi friends! Activity around here definitely picks up around Area Saturday. This is great and also not so great at the same time. See something that may be spam, abusive, or infringing on copyright? By all means, report it!!! We'll look at it and take appropriate actions. Trust me. We have some neat moderating tools that I am hungry to try out!!! Also, please leave a reason why you flagged it. The Report function is NOT used to downvote someone's prediction because you don't like it because they didn't pick your band and that's totally sus because we're really good this year HONEST! Don't abuse that reporting tool. It slows my day down, especially when I am eating. Good luck to everyone this weekend!

Well, well, well ….look who I passed on my way to work today!! #teamtexas

This message is mostly aimed to students at Cy-Woods, Cy-Fair, and Bridgeland high schools. I'm a Bridgeland parent and I know many BL kids read this forum, and I imagine the CyWoods/CyFair kids do, too. I am beyond proud of what our district is starting to do right now. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Houston had some of the best marching bands in the nation. Westfield, Spring, Langham Creek, Clements... nobody knew of Hebron, Vandegrift or Vista Ridge back then. But the directors at those great Houston schools eventually retired or moved on, and their programs declined quickly, with Langham Creek being the last to do so. CFISD's music program has struggled for 17 years, since Langham Creek HS was the big dog and was doing great things on the field. It's been nothing but tumbleweeds since then. But to see what these three bands have put on the field the past couple of years, and especially this year, it just makes me incredibly proud of how we are representing Cypress, CFISD, and Houston in general. It is a renaissance for CFISD and for Houston. To the Cy-Fair HS kids: Your show this year was so outside-the-box. I've been following marching bands for a long time, and it's one of the most creative show designs I have ever seen. Everything was new, different, original. I have never heard so many kids from other bands "ooh" and "aah" over a show as I did at the area I contest a few weeks ago when you performed in the finals. I've never discussed the meaning of a show so often with parents from BL and other schools. That means you put ART on the field, and that's all in addition to the precision marching, the beautiful and tight woodwind runs, the beautiful brass sound, the amazing guard with its butterflies. It was just a complete package and, knowing we are friendly competition, I was sweating you guys all season and was a little relieved you weren't attending BOA SA - one less contender to worry about. I can't wait to see what you guys cook up next year. I know it's going to be absolutely incredible. To the Cy-Woods HS kids: You put on a fantastically clean and modern show. The black and yellow popped on the field visually, and it complemented the block formations and diagonals so well. The cleanliness of the front ensemble was noteworthy, and my favorite moment might have been the trumpet-led brass section in the first 1/3 of the show, where you're standing in a diagonal formation on the right side of the field and are building up to a tense moment with a constantly crescendoing double-tonguing master class that is so, so clean and in unison--that is really difficult to pull off, but you did. I'm sure you are aware from the prelims scores that you were incredibly close to making the BOA SA finals. Maybe you felt a little disrespected this season in the judging, and I'm stressed about what that's going to make you do next year. And to my Bridgeland kids: I can't say enough about you. The show was so beautiful this year. You achieved historic things. There's only one band in the history of Texas that has ascended so quickly from being a new school to being a state finalist - and that one band is Vandegrift. I remember when I was in marching band in HS, I didn't really understand the competing bands and what it meant to place at a certain level. But I hope that when you look at the list of state championship finalists and BOA SA finalists, that you understand what an elite level you are at right now. You were the new kid on the block and nobody knew who you were. And now, everyone knows who you are. In the countless times I walked back and forth from my hotel to the Alamodome this week, I spoke with parents from Hebron, Vandegrift, the Woodlands, students at the University of Houston, former Marcus students who are now in college... they were all so complimentary, and they all knew the name "Bridgeland." One of the UH kids used to play at Pearland and he was the most blunt about the 2022 show. He said, "Yeah, I saw Bridgeland was going on, and I was like, 'who's that?' But their show blew me away, I was like [expletive expletive! expletive!!!] That is AMAZING!" You are on the map now, kiddos. And I am willing to bet the directors are going to really kick it up a notch with next year's show. It is going to be incredible, and I hope you are setting your sights very high. If you're on Bridgeland neighborhood social media, you can see how proud the whole neighborhood is of you guys, with hundreds of likes and comments pouring in. Bravo on a job well done. I hope you never stop striving for greatness in life. In closing: I'm so pleased to see how the schools in some other districts in our state support each other. Leander ISD, for example -- you'll see fans of all the different HS programs in this district cheering their hearts out for each other. As CFISD starts to re-gain prominence, I hope we do the same for each other. If Bridgeland didn't make the finals, I sure as heck was rooting for Cy Fair or Cy Woods to make it. Stick together and let's go head to head against these other districts that have dominated for too long. 😉 Here's to 2024!

As many know, I am associated with Vista Ridge. I am an alumni parent, all three of my kids went through the program. I have been involved at Vista for 11 years now and remain involved today. I am horrified and embarrassed at any suggestion that our parents are saying anything to denigrate other programs, ESPECIALLY our sister schools. That is NOT the culture that I have been a part of for more than a decade now. The Ranger Band family has always been supportive of other bands just as much as our own kids. We cheer loud and long for other bands' performances and celebrate their successes, again, ESPECIALLY our sister schools. We go out of our way to offer help and support if we can and love to make friends along the way. My hope is that the individuals involved in any of these unfortunate situations learn that what they have said is NOT the way we do things. My guess is that these comments are from folks less involved as volunteers and I would suggest strongly that they get more involved. Volunteering to work with and for our kids will open your eyes to understanding just how hard they work, just like the kids from all other schools. On behalf of the Ranger Band family, I sincerely apologize for any and all of these unfortunate incidents. They are not representative of who we are. And congratulations to Rouse on an amazing season! The Ranger Band family is happy for you and immensely proud of the honor you bring to LISD.

CTJ parent here! Just came on to say that all of the bands did amazing at semi-finals and should be so proud of their accomplishments regardless if they were 1st or 40th. It was an impressive display of talent and creativity and we will be cheering y'all on in the finals. GO TEAM TEXAS!

Congrats to Avon! They were great! And congrats to Harloff on a very successful first season as head director! My rankings after watching finals on high cam were Carmel, The Woodlands, Hebron, then Avon, albeit all of them quite close to each other. Needless to say I was quite surprised by the final gaps! Carmel was pure elegance, yet again. They produce lush sounds and shape long, beautiful phrases. People underestimate how difficult that is! There's an unmatched attention to detail musically and visually, even if the content doesn't connect with a broader audience and is more cerebral. Their visual performance was quite pristine in finals as well. The guard in particular gave their best performance of the season. I don't think I saw a single drop! The ballad was of course goosebumps central, with that gorgeous, diaphanous blue fabric that was pulled out over the band. The show was a fully formed diamond, just exquisite. The Woodlands show was absolutely thrilling, musically and visually. The show is a real stunner visually -- crystal clear from both the band and the guard, the staging also developing in clear, logical, and creative ways. The 19.7 they received in semifinals from John Howell for visual effect was the accurate score for them in that caption. Their weakness relative to the top was in musicianship and exploring a fuller range of moods and musical colors. Also, to a degree, in trying something new, given the similarities to the Blue Devils 1994 show. Hebron was of course dazzling musically. There was no other band in all of finals that could match their virtuosity. The showmanship of it all! As others have pointed out, fantastic music performances often bleed into music effect. I was a bit surprised that didn't happen as much here, but it's hard to know what the judges will react to emotionally and intellectually. Alas, as we all know by now, judges don't care much about general audience reaction. Visually, I thought Hebron's show was the weakest of the four by quite a bit from a perspective of pure cleanliness -- the guard in particular was a bit distracting with their ensemble flag timing throughout -- but their designers also challenge their members with lots of simultaneous responsibilities and difficult drill. Avon was wearing costumes that looked like track suits for a reason. They just fly around the field. They take off right in the beginning and rarely let up. There's a lot of excitement here, musically and visually. The ending was particularly strong with the recapitulation of the main theme and the picture frames coming together in a jumbled but appealing mess. Purple, of course, works well on the green field, and provides a nice aesthetic pop. The arrangement of Pictures was also refreshing, unlike any we've heard before. Finals, however, didn't actually seem like Avon's strongest run, with a bit of flagging energy and some noticeable visual dirt, ensemble flag issues, and some exposed drops. But, again, challenges are a bigger part of the visual sheets than they used to be, and that's likely where Avon shined. An honorable mention to Blue Springs. Like I said earlier, it's extremely rare for me to see a show with a concept that I've never seen before, even if I found the narration a little cheesy and trite. (Platitudes like "in an ocean darkness" and "there will never be anybody quite like you" abounded.) They gave a great performance, albeit not one that warranted a 4th place finish. Obviously, I disagreed a bit with the finals panel. It wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last. What concerns me more, however, is the reaction I'm seeing to the results from people in Texas. It's not just on these forums, with the (sometimes sort of humorous) accusations of conflicts of interest among BOA's adjudication community; it's also on other chats I'm privy to featuring quite a lot of current educators and some judges. I'm hearing complaints about music being de-valued, about how it's no longer Music for All but Aesthetics for All, which is probably my favorite. 😄 There has even been talk among these educators of Texas bands divesting themselves of BOA -- sort of like how the Midwest Combine broke off prior to the formation of DCI. For me, this is a bit too much like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. If there are issues, directors ought to try working with BOA first to fix them. Meanwhile, the advisory panel needs to take recommendations seriously. A good starting place might be to revise any policies regarding conflicts of interest. I would also recommend the use of double adjuducation panels in major events, like in DCI and WGI, to try to help reduce major shifts between rounds and to get more of an "average judge" perspective, whatever that is. Music already counts for most of the score, but maybe including fine-line performance to a greater degree in the effect captions is in order. But here's the thing: so much of the reason why Texas bands struggle against the National competition has nothing at all to do with BOA and everything to do with TEA and their regulations. With the limited rehearsal time before August, in addition to the 8 hour rule throughout the season, Texas bands are limited both by How well they perform their shows and What they're able to field and reasonably clean. Do you see what I did there? The rules affect success in both the "What" and the "How" halves of the judging sheets. Those arguing otherwise are disingenuous -- well, either that, or I have a bridge to sell them. ("Not being able to rehearse twice as long as 8 hours a week totally has no effect on how Texas bands do! Derp derp!" 😄) Anyway, the point remains, a lot of this issue is because of Texas itself, not BOA. But be careful what you wish for, folks! You might miss only having to rehearse 8 hours a week! 😉

At this point "CTJ should've been added" is just cope. Waxahachie performed well, that's why they got ranked at 14th. Even if waxahachie DIDN'T go over we probably wouldn't have seen CTJ in finals as the results show. The time accomodation is such a trivial thing in regards to who should and shouldn't be in finals. It's alright to be upset CTJ didn't make finals but this whole "let's add an extra spot and waxahachie should've been reprimanded" is so... unnecessary.. Just to add- the basis of "well they made finals every year since 2010" doesn't really hold weight as we've seen this year. Cedar Ridge was a bronze medalist and couldn't even make it to state. Reputation doesn't mean things are owed.

hello! keller student here. everything is fine regarding the buses, nobody was injured thank goodness!

I enjoy reading and responding occasionally -- 15 years at CTJ and the one thing I have always believed is a good thing... "Love you or hate you, if they're talking about you... you're doing your job." It's nice to see the commentary and happy that folks are seeking out our videos! CTJ is my one and only ... and I don't take for granted how lucky we are as a community to get to be a part of something as special as what we have. The show this year is an effort to get "back to basics" - there is drill (we move and play a lot) - there is a simple concept "out there," which references both "spaces," "from the outside looking in," planets, stars, ET, and of course how fortunate we are to be a part of such a wonderful world. I am not gaslighting - there's a lot wrong, but ... in a time where there is so much to be negative about, I try hard as a leader to keep our students and community focused on the positives in our world, and how they have an ability to be the change they wish so badly to see. We have never avoided doing difficult things ... so, the program is challenging, but... we have also tried to avoid "everything but the kitchen sink" - which we did very well with competitively, I might add 😇 And the show is in three movements plus a pre-show. It's a shorter show this year, and doesn't go down quite so many rabbit holes. This is a result of our own reflection ... but also things I have read on this forum, and feedback from adjudicators. We also like learning from those who are "state of the art" - Hebron, Vandy, Woodlands, Reagan, BA, Avon, Carmel, ETC - each bring something incredible to the table. And it helps shape our approach. Our ballad is inspired by 2018 Bluesprings - one of my favorite ballads as an audience member - and I remember thinking all through that "videos don't do that ballad justice" ... and I don't think the videos do ours justice either. Love singing or hate it ... it's a personal taste. I am singer - I enjoy it, and our kids do a wonderful job with it. I am always grateful each year to the bloggers and the audience members (who I also realize are some of our biggest competitors and not always happy to see us do well, but still stay positive or at least constructive) - that's a part of this game. I do always remind people that putting a show together and keeping a program like CTJ going over the long term is not easy to do (and we have now been around a LONG time, unless you're like RUBISCO ... you're a baby in my eyes)... Our team continues to entertain, push the envelope, and provide great experiences for our band members. We are inspired by the amazing programs in Texas, and continue to learn from them. Someday, those of you who write on this forum, I hope you are as fortunate as I have been to teach and be a part of the design process for a program like CTJ. It is am amazing thing to be a part of. And - you won't fully understand every decision we make, nor agree with it. And that's cool. That's the best part about art - it's subjective. We do CTJ the way we love to do it - it is a joy to teach there every day. AND, as Rubisco so eloquently put it so many years ago, we will always "go our own way." Have the best season, and look forward to sharing our show with you in KATY.

There are so many great marching bands in Texas. By the end of Prelims we will have 23 sure-fire Finalists. 🤣

can we end this conversation already - this is a yearly thing. unless someone has $500K in their pocket that wants to ensure that the "Best in Texas" goes to G Nats let's just let it go. In 2019 we heard... but if Reagan went... but they didn't - and Vandy brought home the Eagle. how do you think the Vandy program felt to heard - but if Reagan went... Hebron had a phenomenal show and they took gold in BOA-SA and State - their season is over and they will now prepare for their trip to Pasadena and the Tournament of Roses parade in January. I know they will have a great time. but let's start supporting the 7 programs that ARE going to Indy and move on.

Before scores start, I want to thank, not just the bands that performed these past 3 days, but to all the kids in band this year, not just here in Texas. I think personally, 2019 was my favorite year or marching band all around. Every band had incredible shows, and GN's was peak, but 2023 ya'll, this was something real, real special. Getting to see so many wonderful performances both live and on Box5 for these past two months has been so much fun, so thank you, to all the kids around the nation who made this year possible. For putting in countless hours of work, for you dedication and hard work, for performing through the sweat in tears, and for allowing us to have the opportunities to witness magic on the field be made. I've made countless memories this season, and I can't wait already for 2024. Thank you to all the kids, parents, boosters and band enthusiast that made this season so special, and what may be my new personal favorite season of marching band. And to our 12 finalists, no matter what the results are, be happy and proud of yourselves for all that you have accomplished this season!

This has been the same conversation for years. When Marcus and L.D. Bell reigned supreme people wondered what was the point. When Westfield and Reagan were the kings people wondered why they ought to keep trying. These comments and concerns are ingrained into competitive marching. It can be hard to keep missing after trying, but we have to remember some things. Its more about the results it’s about what you learn through participating and putting effort. Do the same bands seem to keep reigning supreme? Yes. However we put too much focus on big finalist achievements instead of focusing on big accomplishments on a smaller scale. Glenn broke their first 80 ever at San Antonio this year, Argyle swept AA as a newly 5A band, Pecos won A with a 2 rating at region. Small accomplishments need to be amplified, because there’s value we don’t see. Money is an issue, sure.. Any competitive activity at the HS level will always have that inequity at its core, and that’s a huge shame. I would say “judging bias” is always a big concern, but I rarely see it. Outlier scoring can seem shocking on the surface, but some analysis can usually bring genuine justification.

Please email any and all streaming issues and complaints to music@uiltexas.org so this never happens again!

Just wanted to put this post up to rave how amazing Hebron was this year. As a former Vandegrift alum who went there from 2016 - 2019, I have to say this was easily the greatest marching band show of all time. These kids sounded like a DCI group. I've never heard such a rich tone, powerful low brass, and technical proficiency from a high school group before and I just want to say thank you to all of the Hebron kids who just redefined how good a high school marching band can be. You've changed marching band forever and have taken this amazing art form we all love to a whole new level. You guys should feel like rockstars after performing that show and like I said before, thank you for all your hard work. You guys are the Michael Jackson's of marching band and pulled off the greatest marching band show of all time.

hebron would have gotten a 99 had they gone to nats

In 2012 Marcus won the BOA San Antonio Super Regional sweeping captions and went on to win UIL State that year. In 2016 Flower Mound won the BOA San Antonio Super Regional sweeping captions and went on to win UIL State that year. Now that Hebron has won BOA San Antonio sweeping captions I think it's time for them to join their fellow Lewisville ISD bands and win UIL State!

It is when all the bands just give up.

Forums now

I’m here so I can post who made the finals

I’m a member of the Aledo Band, there was no penalties, we had a decent run, not our best performance, but I still believe we deserved finals. Our performance time was not very desirable either though. It sucks that we didn’t make finals but my best wishes go out to all the other bands!

Holy moly. Bell TOP HALF????

3rd - Cedar Ridge

This post will probably get deleted. https://recaps.competitionsuite.com/4968ab72-0c9c-4159-bf74-3b8e7befedaf.htm

Every top band in Texas blows DCI away in terms of woodwinds.

I think we can talk about differences in design approach in a way that doesn't pick one group up while diminishing the achievement of another. We continually say Hebron this, CTJ that, but each one of these school names have real people behind them. Realize that the kids performing the sh*t out of these shows have no control over the way their school's design team chooses to navigate artistic expression -- they simply take what they're given and infuse every ounce of their being into it. Whatever the method, it has merit purely because of the dedication behind it

I actually have been on both sides of this, so I can empathize with everyone here. In the fall of 2015 my daughter was a Freshman and our school was in it's third year of existence. They had been 3A the first two years and it was the first year there was a senior class. The band had one panel as a prop - just one. They were good (never not made Sweepstakes at Region) so they advanced to 5A Area D. I took the day off and drove up to Austin and arrived early enough to watch a few bands before we performed. In walks Vista Ridge, twice the size of us - props, guard blockers... the whole deal. They turned around and blew our hair back with the first hit and I just thought..... woah. There were several other Leander bands that followed too. We performed and did well, but needless to say did not make finals. Great first time at Area though, and a learning experience. Our kids on that day were probably wondering "How are we ever going to compete with THEM?" The answer is, we got busy. The kids got better. They learned how to march better because we hired techs. The boosters figured out better fund raisers so we could raise the money for big props, a custom show design, custom drill, etc. In 2017 we went to Area with a great show but had a glitch and lost power. The kids picked themselves up and in 2018 we won a couple marching contests. In 2019 we made area finals but missed state. And in 2021, we are headed to 5A State for the first time. There are some powerhouse bands that will be here, most of which have been doing it longer than us, and in our heart of hearts we know we don't have a shot to win.... this year. But our kids feel like they can COMPETE with anyone now. Now when we roll into a contest and see the other bands walk by as we are building our giant props, I feel bad, because I know how they feel because I remember our kids feeling like that. I wanted my kid to experience being in a program with bigger props and all that goes with it. And you can get there - you just need to get started building the program. That takes great directors and kids, a supportive administration, and a strong and dedicated booster program. It's a process. Embrace it, and realize that it's a multi-year process and it might take longer than the four years your kid is in school to get there. But without the bands of yesterday, there would be no band of today. They all played a part, of building a program. Marching Band is the best! Good luck to everyone wherever you may be performing in the next few weeks!

Fun fact. The people behind me at semi-finals had never heard of Hebron and after they performed, were speechless. Then one of them said, "I think that changed me." The other person said, "Yeah, I don't know what to say other than I am not the same." Got a chuckle from it.

A little visual of where our 12 finalists come from congratulations to everyone and thank you for sharing your talent with us !!

You’re welcome. 1. Cedar Park - 12 2. Rouse - 17 3. Wakeland - 23 4. Leander - 25 5. Forney - 45 6. Centennial - 54 7. Lone Star - 62 8. Roma - 62 9. Friendswood - 67 10. Richland - 67 11. Lebanon Trail - 70 12. Hendrickson - 74

As a Dville band alumni and someone who grew up in Duncanville I’ll chime in a bit. Dville is not a bad place to live at all however it’s nowhere near as well off as some of the other parts of the state and money can prove to be an issue for many. Consequently, many students (myself included when I was there) required financial assistance in some way shape of form. Thankfully, the program has an INCREDIBLE booster program, culture/traditions, and a high standard of education/teaching. Rather than using the money raised to go to a bunch of competitions every season, it is invested into the students themselves so that any student can have private lessons despite their situation and to ensure that no student ever has to pay a “band fee” just to be a member of the band. Despite the circumstances, Dville has 3 state championships to their name, a music caption at Grand Nationals, and one of if not the longest streaks of any 6A band for consecutive advancements to state going every cycle from 1984-2018 (missed it in 2021 but returned in 2022). Although Dville is not at the peak of where they used to be, they’ve always stuck around and are a program that can never be counted out. (I am extremely biased towards this program so sorry if this comes across as a little preachy 😭)

Hebron Appreciation Thread: The Drinking Game The phrase: "DCI with woodwinds" = take a sip "what do they feed the __ players?" = sip "what's in the water in Carrolton/DFW/Texas?" = sip Comparisons to college bands/drum corps = 1 shot Lamenting Hebron's absence from Grand Nats this year = 2 shots GOAT proclamations = 3 shots

i plan on recording all of the finalists from tonight and will upload them all into a Google drive. i can send that out later

I have the sheets. Heres a link: https://authenticity50.com/products/authenticity-50-exclusive-white-sheets

I also think that people get hung up on “bands not being as good as they used to be” when in fact the activity is moving SO fast that groups with a certain “brand” may find it hard to maintain the level of success they’re used to. CTJ has absolutely pushed the activity from a performance and design standpoint, and now everyone in the top has caught up to them. It’s the mentality of “a rising tide lifts all boats.” If you get very good, everyone around you will also get good-which is a GOOD thing! It’s not unique to CTJ- this has happened to Spring, Westfield, LD Bell, and to an extent Cedar Park and Cedar Ridge from time to time. CTJ still has an incredible product and brand and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them surge once again in a season or two like has happened for a few of the previously mentioned groups. It’s one of the best things about TX bands!

Oh be still my heart! I am so proud of everyone who made it to finals. I am extremely happy and proud of Forney! This has been an incredible season for us! I am glad that this is the end of the road for me, I wouldn’t have it any other way. @tennertrumbow @SaxA41 @BandKid_2 @krustyjoe: i am so beyond proud of you guys. i hope you take this comp and continue to grow. now then, ill still be active here and try to make comps. i love you all so much, and i’ll always miss this experience. - Kai

Is anyone else hoping for a 10 way tie for 14th? 😂

I'm definitely going to agree with this, we're a day or so away from watching more greatness up in Indy. I graduated from the Hebron Band 5 or 6 years ago and have kind of lost touch of the band at this point, but just seeing how happy Andy Sealy and the kids in those pinstriped uniforms were, brought back an enormous wave of nostalgia for this activity and community as a whole. I still remember hopping on these forums every once in a while after one of our competitions to see what people were saying, and so to come back and see all of these people happy that Hebron broke our curse made me super happy. Can't be thankful enough for what the Texas high school marching community has given to me in my life.

The only bands to have ever swept captions in San Antonio finals are LISD-North bands. Marcus 2007, 2012 Flower Mound 2016 Hebron 2021

Everyone say it with me, bands can have different performances between prelims and finals. Bands can also have different levels of improvement between contests. You are not guaranteed anything based on your past performances, and it would be stupid if you were. If you cannot comprehend basics about marching band, you should not be complaining. There a thousand different factors to a performance, and everyone needs be on top of their game as in districts like this only your best performance can get you in.

Just take the days off and come to one of the best shows you'll ever get to see. You only have 2 chances to see your kid perform in this show. Prelims are great. Plenty of seating as fans file in and out to see the bands they want to. Finals get announced and then anticipation goes into overdrive. For finals, people line up early. It's a real celebratory environment (and nerves for the parents whose kids are marching). That first band comes out and all of that nervous energy goes away from the crowd. Now it's 140 minutes to enjoy bands, reminisce on the season, and hope for joy for your favorite band/kid. Last band leaves the field and the crowd starts buzzing. "Who do you have in 1st? What's your favorite show? Congrats, I love your kid's band. Let's hope for the best. Etc..." Then the full retreat starts. Drumline brings out all of the bands and the entire field is filled with beautiful colors. Awards ceremony. Places are awarded. Then the bands celebrate on field. It's a wonderful sight. Absolutely do it. I don't even have a kid in high school anymore and I won't miss 5A and 6A SMBC.

OMG I'm sorry. My comment wasn't even meant to be a criticism. I'm beyond mad at the district for not putting more resources to help this band out. These poor kids kill themselves at practice every single day and they deserve SO MUCH MORE than what they are getting right now. I am so very sorry if my comment was taken personally. It was not meant to be that way and I got super busy to be able to respond. BTW, the new unis are stunning. The light color tops really pop on the field.

Let’s keep this on topic. The event is a week away and these kiddos deserve some support. I cannot wait to be back in the stands nerding out!

She of course is, but that doesn’t mean it’s always proper. These are teenagers at the end of the day, and Stony Point is in a kinda weird and probably not fun spot as a sort of odd man out in a district where the bulk of the bands are very successful. It’s one thing when we punch up—nobody’s feelings should be all that hurt by saying (all examples) that Vandegrift is boring and FloMo is stale and CTJ is a mess (but at the very least, *how* those opinions are expressed *here* should matter too!). Those bands and their results speak for themselves above any of our opinions. But going after Stony Point, when the poster is very clearly not a Stony Point parent and likely one of a school near the top of the RRISD pecking order, is probably past the appropriate mark for this forum. Having been a student on this forum (but not admitting to how long ago!), we definitely read it, and sometimes it’s hard for it not to sting a bit. Even if you’re a Hebron or Reagan or TWHS kid.

I am so sorry but TWHS in 5th doesn’t sit right with me

New top 5!!! 1. Krum 2. UNT 3. Allen (the more people the better) 4. James Pace Early College 5. Tubalord11

all the nice things said about bridgeland were shared around my bus <33!! the directors said it was the best show of the year and some happy tears were shed. we’re really proud of our show tonight.

Y’all literally wasted 2-3 pages in this thread asking for recaps. 🤣🤣🤣

@justabandkid94 You are wise - many kids and parents read the posts. Most do not comment. While it is good practice for all to learn to embrace critique and praise simultaneously - it is always helpful to remember just about everyone is working towards the same thing - being great at marching band. The variance of opinions is exciting - it is no different judging. The mix of adjudicators with different opinions - the audience reaction - all of it keeps a contest interesting. There is also a great benefit in not taking anything too seriously - or too personally - when it comes to rankings, ratings, opinions, etc. It’s an art form, it will always be subjective - there will always be some who love, some who hate - but … as long as they’re talking? Well, that’s pretty cool!