5 te 6

Super doesn't even describe it.  Help me put a cherry on one of the greatest marching contests in history.  You people are the best!!!
 
 

I've said it before, but their Semi-Finals performance at Grand Nationals in 2015 was the single best thing I've ever seen in marching band. Everything lined up for that, and the crowd was so responsive. No other show that I've seen live (granted limited exposure) even comes close, including last night (and those were great too!). That they set the record score ever in BOA with that performance speaks for itself, and I feel honored to have been there to see it.

Avon parent here. Thank you Texas for wonderful hospitality, a lovely city, and jaw dropping competition! Wow. This is our first year in marching band and we had NO idea what we were getting into, but we love it. The Indy super regional was dull by comparison. Now if we can just carry the intensity y'all gave us into grand nats next week, we are sure to crush Carmel! Hebron's sound blew me away, and FloMo dazzled me. Vandergrift was soooo smooth, and CTJ...ok, I admit, I didn't quite get CTJ. Maybe it was too much for this noob to catch it all. But every show was thrilling. Thanks again, Texas.

Carmel coming to Texas in 2002 was humbling, but there’s no doubt that their win was very responsible for the huge changes Texas has made in visual in the 15 years since. Avon bringing their visual to Texas will, I believe, do much of the same. It was an honor to see you, and I can’t wait to fly to Indy and see it again this weekend!

I know that there are a few people from Avon who have been following this thread. I just want to reach out to you and vicariously to the Avon Black and Gold and say what an honor it is that you came and joined us this weekend. Looking at your past BOA results I realized that it has been many years since you have missed out on a medal at any event, and I hope that this doesn't discourage you. Your show is fantastic and I am certain will be right at the top at grand nationals. I hope you enjoyed your time in Texas. I would also like to say thank you for what you have done to improve the nature of marching band in our state. Simply by coming this year, you fostered an environment of competitiveness that has pushed our "bubble bands" to improve in vast measures to keep up. In addition, you have given some of our good bands that aren't quite ready to make the trip or that don't have the funding to go to grand nationals the chance to see a truly phenomenal visual program which is rare to witness here. I hope that the band and all associated parties have safe travels home and I can't wait to see what you accomplish next week!

Absolutely blown away again by Hebron's music. The ending actually made me tear up a little bit. I can't recall the last time that's happened! I'm just so completely moved by the musicianship of this group. Music education is alive and well in Carrollton, Texas.

Here's to not letting this happen ever again!

Thank you for supporting us!!!!  We love what we do and we plan on being around for a bit
 
Just a friendly reminder that all donations go directly to server costs/keeping the site running.  Our staff does NOT take any sort of salary from these donations.

Love it when the band kids take over the darn school!!!!!!!!!!!

Take a look at Hebron 2015's show and scores at Nats against Avon. 
 
Now take a look at Hebron's show two weeks ago and take a look at Avon's show from this weekend. Hebron is on fire this year, from the gate. 

Tonight is Flower Mound HS (Hornrank #2) hosting Hebron HS (Hornrank #4).  Talk about to big time bands at one HS game.  Let's hope the rain stays away until the second half.

Anyone else going with me?

I also have t-shirts now! Put a logo on a shirt and walk around at band competitions and it makes it super official!

Oh my goodness. Remind me again why people care so much about these rankings. It’s because it has its own website, isn’t it? It does make it seem more official, I suppose. Reminds me of that Mark Twain quote: “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.”

This one is particularly awesome because it features me a lot.

It's the second Bands of America Regional in Texas for 2017. Join me from Southlake, Texas as I interview members of TxBands.com, the creator & director of the Couchmen D&BC, and hear hot takes regarding all the finalist bands! 
 

Shout out to Vista Ridge as well, although this isn't entirely unprecedented.  Flower Mound had to do the same thing two years in a row in San Antonio in 2012 & 2013.  In 2013 the football game went into triple overtime.
It's amazing what all of these kids can accomplish.  They are more resilient than what we adults sometimes give them credit for.  Going through schedules like that can really make them tough competitors this year and for years to come.

Yes it was. I left the competition after skipping lunch to watch bands and just never got up to go eat. I had the exact same thought as I saw Wakeland perform first in finals and gave in to my inner demons and got my patty melt. Luckily enough I have a FloMarching account and streamed it on my way to whataburger and caught almost all of every band except for Coppell. I will add that the quality of FloMarching is nothing compared to seeing them live. Some of my friends who live in Houston had Flomo winning, but I agreed with the judging. Hebron was cleaner musically, and surprisingly clean visually. That's the biggest improvement from them this year to me, they actually are really clean visually. Not only that but they beat out everyone with just an opener and a ballad, I believe Flomo had some of their closer on the field. Of course this is subjective and probably really doesn't matter in the eyes of the judges. Anyways, I digress. Whataburger is great, and lets just say I'm glad judges don't make decisions based on FloMarching.

Crazy awesome contest!!!!!  The stadium was buzzing by the end of the night!  I'll chat about this with you all soon

Flomo unis IMO have been the best utilized out of any group I've seen, DCI or high school level. They look great beforehand, and then the colors change and the shakos come off and it just... it just makes sense. The concept is there. The visual appeal is there. And the color is just so pretty. It's just so good on so many levels.
 
and as far as the 360 thing goes, let's wait until San Antonio... then we'll see which one is better

I will respectfully acknowledge your opinion of hebrons ballad, and respectfully completely disagree. Hebron’s 2015 ballad has no comparison. There’s nothing as rich and powerful in that sense on a marching field that I’ve ever seen. Sure there’s more powerful stuff sometimes but the combination of dark, jazz, and power was absolutely mind boggling. Don’t get me wrong, I was extremely impressed with the trio and it was surprisingly amazing to me, but 360 will go into the hall of fame for me.
I was surprised to see the contrast from prelims to finals. I think I agree with finals just a bit more, year after year hebron has the hardest musical show in my opinion and this show does not disappoint. I was surprised to see the visual caption go to Hebron, but I definitely noticed how much better they seem to be this year. Very clean, very good. I also really appreciated the Drumline, being a 10 year displaced drummer myself.
I really loved flomos source music, and those might just be the slickest uniforms out there. I love the uniform switch, but I was surprised they didn’t win GE outright with that show. It’s very DCI to me.
Timber impressed the HECK out of me, and I really can’t wait to see this program grow in the next few years. And I definitely am surprised at Coppell, I didn’t see their show due to a much needed Whataburger break (patty melt for the win) but it sounds like I need to see what’s going on. I think this might be more of a case of other bands just improving faster than they do, but I still need to see it.
Loved seeing LD Bell crack the top three, reminded me of my old days when my high school would get beat up by them in the 2000s. It was a good weekend!

Today's contest (yesterday now actually) was just completely brilliant in every way. The top bands were all fantastic, but Hebron and FloMo were just over the top really. I had Hebron pegged for winning the music caption, but I was truly beside myself when they took first place! I screamed like it was Leander or something. In fact, a FloMo mom mistook me for a Hebron mom (my Leander shirt is the same blue as Hebron's) and congratulated me when it was over. I didn't bother correcting her.
 
San Antonio is up for grabs by SO MANY bands now! WHAT FUN!!!!

Ugh. Hebron's ballad. I think it might be better than 360. It's amazing: if you haven't seen it live or over stream you're missing out... it's giving me HUGE BD vibes from this past summer! Flugel solo, tbone solo, very jazzy, and LONG!! I love that the show just takes time away from the CRAZY technique in the beginning (double tonguing features back and forth in the brass, some double tonguing in the woodwinds (yes you read that right) and just amazing technical playing) to carve out a beautiful, beautiful groove. Hebron- you stole my heart tonight <3
 
really don't get what the show's about but honestly idc i'll listen to that ballad all day everyday and not give a darn about what it means.

Hebron just stole the gold!!!

Absolutely a Texas band can win - Hebron beat both Avon and Broken Arrow in GN semi-finals in 2015, and that was a major and well deserved accomplishment (I saw all 3 shows in-person and completely agreed with those placements). There are multiple programs in Texas that are talented and capable enough to win this contest. Avon is as well of course - they are outstanding.

Keep working hard and trust your directors.  
 

 
But seriously, don't concern yourself so much with the opinions of people on the internet; that can eat you alive, it got to me when I was in high school a lot.  And nine times out of ten people on the internet are probably not qualified to answer that question (though on this site that is probably more like seven times out of ten).  Be proud of what you do and be the best member you can be, after that everything else is out of your control.   
 
You guys are off to a great start, keep working hard and have a great fall!