BandFan59

Hebron and Vandegrift tied for 1st, wow. Vandegrift really gunning for redemption after not medaling at San Antonio.

Results seem about as expected. All 13 6A finalists from Saturday plus Waxahachie who was 2nd at Area B behind Coppell. Very interested in seeing who the first few bands out of finals were, that last spot could have had a dozen different bands in it.

The original post has the judges listed for this contest. Several of the judges are also BOA and DCI judges, so some of the names may be familiar.

The top half bottom half split in prelims was incredibly close. CTJ was 6th with a 92.53, only 0.13 above Vista Ridge in 7th, who was .05 above Cedar Park in 8th, who was .35 above Coppell in 9th. 0.53 points separated these four bands, just a super narrow margin.

There are large conference rooms under the Alamodome for bands to warm up in. As for props it's a little trickier, there is an unloading dock connected to the tunnels that's covered but it's not very big so UIL or the bands will have to try and adjust for the rain with their props.

I was actually debating between Waxahachie and Timber Creek for that final spot. I think Keller and Timber Creek are both peaking at the right time but I won't be surprised if Waxahachie gets in finals either.

A day before state, here's my final predictions: Hebron Flower Mound Vista Ridge Ronald Reagan Vandegrift The Woodlands Claudia Taylor Johnson Coppell Cedar Ridge Marcus Keller Round Rock Pearland Timber Creek While I think all the 6A bands that made finals at San Antonio will make finals here, I think the placings will shift around quite a bit. Flower Mound's cleanliness should benefit them here and they've a history of excelling at UIL. Similarly I think Vista Ridge will grab a medal as they sound absolutely phenomenal and will benefit from UIL's music judging with individual subcaptions. 4-10 were quite difficult for me to order, as all of the bands there have had varying levels of success in UIL and I could see the order shifting substantially. After that even though BOA and UIL judging are not exactly the same I think it's a safe bet that the other bands that made San Antonio finals will also make state finals given the point gap between the finalist and non-finalist bands. As for the last band I really liked Timber Creek's performance at San Antonio and think they may finally make it into state finals.

Actually 6A State will take 14 finalists this year because more than 40 bands qualified for the state competition. So it will be a little like BOA San Antonio part 2, only without the 5A schools!

First impressions for me off results is Woodlands, WOW! Where did you come from??? Everyone (me included) was expecting a sort of rebuilding year under a new head director and yet they come and get 2nd (highest placement since 2016) with the GE caption! Amazing performance out of them! I actually was expecting Hebron to break 97 at least with that absurd performance but I’m sure two captions and first place is more than fine for them. They’re in the pole position to repeat at state as well and I’ve no doubts that they will. I’m actually not too surprised that Flower Mound earned 7th. While I had them a couple places higher, I think the drill was a bit basic compared to other bands and might’ve hurt their scores. Regardless, they were incredible and should be proud of their performance. Round Rock in 8th is the other surprise for me! I bet everyone there is so happy with this given how 2021 must have been disappointing for them here and at Grand Nationals. This sets them up nicely to go back to Indianapolis next year! Marcus in 13th is certainly a head scratcher for me. The show is probably the least demanding of all the finalists, but they were still super clean. I’m expecting them to bounce back at state next week in a big way. Honestly each of these finalist bands were all so amazing in their own way. I’m sure I’ll have more to talk about all of them later, but these are some of my initial thoughts. What a great couple days of band it’s been!

Finals Results: 1. Hebron H.S., TX 96.75 2. The Woodlands H.S., TX 96.50 3. Ronald Reagan H.S., TX 96.00 4. Vandegrift H.S., TX 95.80 5. Vista Ridge H.S., TX 94.40 6. Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX 94.20 7. Flower Mound H.S., TX 93.35 8. Round Rock H.S., TX 91.60 9. Cedar Ridge H.S., TX 91.35 10. Cedar Park H.S., TX 91.25 11. Coppell H.S., TX 90.50 12. Pearland H.S., TX 89.65 13. Marcus H.S., TX 89.35 14. Keller H.S., TX 88.80 Outstanding Music Performance: Hebron H.S., TX Outstanding Visual Performance: Hebron H.S., TX Outstanding General Effect: The Woodlands H.S., TX

Great performance by Pecos to wrap up the day! That sax soloist in the closer was incredible, and for a class A band they produce great sounds that are really full and balanced. Awesome job!

So glad Argyle has decided to enter the BOA world! They had such great sounds and those soloists, especially the flutes, are super talented! Loved the autumn theming and uniforms and hope they continue to pursue the BOA avenue in the future!

Vista Ridge is easily one of the loudest bands of the night. The sounds of the brass on their big hits is just magnificent. Love their rendition of Primacy of Number, it has so much power with the brass but also more delicate moments for the woodwinds to shine through. That ending is just incredible with how powerful they sound! A couple very minor timing issues in the opener, but that's me being very nitpicky. A superb performance and an amazing way to end the finalist performances!

That is awful timing for Vista Ridge, it's super distracting on stream. Can only imagine how much worse it is in person. Edit: Glad they've decided to try and wait until the show is over. Hopefully it's not too long, the night is already getting quite late as it is and we still have two exhibition bands after Vista.

It's hard to go after a performance like that, but Reagan really came and gave it their all! That preshow is just so mysterious yet perfectly sets up the into with the flute and the trombones leading into the first big hit, which was LOUD. There are so many moments that stood out to me, like the alternating woodwind/brass turns from front field to back field. Visually their forms are super crisp and the marching techniques were very uniform from individual to individual. Such a cool ending with the dance team twirling flags in the background before moving into the middle and then blending "in plain sight", haha. Loved it!

No one is beating that performance from Hebron. That is a performance worthy of the gods.

Vandegrift with another stellar performance! That opener is super demanding and I could see some individuals struggling on the multi-cam, but overall they were quite clean and sounded great. The flute soloist in the ballad was a nice refresher after the brass dominant opener and added a layer of subtlety to the show. That ending might be my favorite of the season; it just sounds so hopeful and joyous that combined with the dance team and the flags waving in the background makes for a beautiful effect. Fantastic show!

The Woodlands are just an absolute treat. So much energy across the field, from the incredibly talented color guard to the super powerful brass. That ballad is just sensational. Love this style of production from them and can't wait to see what else they have in store!

Flower Mound really knows how to theme with their productions. Superband was something I wasn't into very much when I first saw it, but over this season I've grown to really like this show. Musically there is some difficult articulation and runs that they pull off flawlessly, and visually they're just super clean. Love the box sets at the end converging into a single curve across the entire field and building into that epic ending!

CTJ with an insane amount of visual and musical demand as usual, but they executed it very well. Not my favorite show I've ever seen from them, but I enjoy listening to their incredible brass section, especially in the closer where they really shine. Visually they're always excellent, even with the difficulty of drill they put on the field. Another fantastic show from them!

Nice to see Round Rock bouncing back this year with a great show! That woodwind trio switching off with the other woodwinds was lovely to listen to. The closer is just super demanding the entire way through, and you could see a bit of dirt as a result, but they still pulled it off.

Great to see Pearland continue growing even with their staff changes! Flight of the Pegasus is such a great tune that they played wonderfully, with some hard runs that they pulled off very well. They showed off a softer side in the ballad which was very nice with the woodwind duet, and then the closer was just constant movement! It's not quite as clean as some of the other bands that have gone but they no doubt earned their spot in finals.

It's hard for me to believe this Cedar Ridge show is in the bottom half. You can see on the multi-cam just how bought in every performer is into the show, and it absolutely sells it. Their brass is just a massive wall of sound coming at you, and that jam out session at the front is just awesome. Oh and they also have an absolutely fantastic percussion program, but that's nothing new for them.

Lovely performance from Coppell! That opening hit is so powerful. There are some moments in the opener that can be pretty difficult with the timing across sections, but I thought they did a good job navigating it. The ballad is definitely the highlight of the show for me, can't get enough of that sax soloist. You can tell they love performing the Beethoven in Havana closer, and it's got some technical passages that every section handles well in their features. Great show!

That bicycle set is going to be one of the highlights of this entire super regional. Keller has always been fantastic musically and this year's no different. Love the energy of the sax soloist, he was really getting into it. Such a fun show from them!