BlueCircle

I looked at the combined schedule for Waco & St. Louis, and Keller and Broken Arrow perform at the same time in prelims Both will very possibly be champions this weekend.

LD Bell not advancing to state last year but making BOA SA Finals was definitely very surprising. I guess that’s typical Area B though.

I really really liked Hendrickson’s and Bowie’s show from Austin, so it is sad seeing judges not connect with these bands as much as last year. Anything can happen though! This competition will for sure be interesting!

I remember when Marcus beat Hebron in prelims at this competition in 2017. Everyone was a little shocked. PrODDigy is one of my favorite Marcus shows but no one expected it to beat Sculpt. I guess what I’m trying to say is that this competition is judged very differently than BOA.

I saw the video of TWHS and I am really really starting to love this show. Probably my favorite other than Reagan this year. The music is just so characteristic and fun and I am SO glad that they are doing something different. I already really like shows by TWHS, but in my opinion, they have gotten a little stale over the last few years. They just need to focus on consistent and high individual performance standards any they will be golden. And they have plenty of time left in the season to clean that up. I love the props when they turn around and I hope they keep adding to the visual story and aesthetic of the show.

Thankfully, it’s looking like the weather will be good and this competition will actually happen for the first time! The bad news is that it will be 90 degrees and sunny

Wrong thread

Updated predictions after seeing this past weekend’s results. 1. Keller - At this point, it would be surprising to see them not decisively take home their first BOA Regional title. Their season has been great so far and they always seem to step it up year after year. 2-6 (any order) James Martin - They somewhat surprisingly finished 2nd in Midland prelims over Regional Finalist Timber Creek. They are having a good season after some years of fluctuation. James Bowie - Their early season results haven’t been nearly as strong as last season but making finals at BOA Austin surely guarantees them a spot in the top half here. Also, I love their show. Hendrickson - Not making Austin finals and then finishing 9th at TMC is concerning considering they are a 2018 SA finalist. I really really love their show this year. Waxahachie - Again, I really really love this show! They had a good showing in DFW finals after finishing 11th in prelims. They should do really well here and hopefully have cleaned up a lot. Seven Lakes - After barely not making Houston finals, they will certainly be making a very strong case for top half. Waxahachie, Seven Lakes, and Hendrickson all finished outside the top 10 in prelims of their respective regional prelims this year so it will be VERY interesting to see how this all shakes out! Finals Bubble: Dripping Springs Forney Aledo Burleson Centennial Richland Mansfield Duncanville

Got bored so I decided to make a prediction based on everything that’s happened this season so far. I’ll probably do another one in a few weeks closer to the actual competition. Finals Locks (10 Bands) - 9 bands who haven’t missed in years and one band who made top 5 last year and is the reigning 6A State Champ. Tier 1: (No particular order) Reagan FloMo CTJ Vandegrift Hebron Leander Tier 2: (No particular order) - VR and TWHS likely making stronger cases for top half if they can really polish in the next three weeks. Vista Ridge The Woodlands Marcus Keller Bubble - Mix of returning and previous finalists and new contenders. (14 bands) Tier 1: (No particular order) - Mainly returning finalists Cedar Ridge Cedar Park LD Bell Westwood Westlake Tier 2: (No particular order) Rouse Lake Travis James Bowie Wakeland Coppell Round Rock Hendrickson Clear Brook Pearland Likely Outside but could surprise: (No particular order) Oak Ridge JBA Prosper Roma Timber Creek Keller Central Complete Unknown: Vista Murrieta

Wow, Lubbock has a pretty awesome music book! Lots of difficulty.

I love Vistas closer! Is is done though? Cuz if felt short to me. Honestly not a big fan of the almost exclusive soprano sax solo.

I saw a video of Fossil Ridge (not from the expo) and it definitely seems like a step in the right direction especially with music difficulty! I wish them a great season!

Anyone go to this? I know we just saw 3/4 of them at DFW. But how was Fossil Ridge?

FYI, there’s a video of Hebron and Keller out there

After seeing a video of Hebron, I now understand why FloMo ran away with it. Hebron still has a TON of visual cleaning to do. As others have mentioned, the finals run was not as good as prelims. I can definitely admit that their musical performance had me in awe and distracted from the glaring issues. I definitely didn’t mean to slight FloMo with my initial reactions. Their show will probably become one of my favorites by the end of the season as it always does.

Maybe that’s a little much!

Reagan’s show felt very very complete to me. I’m absolutely shocked that they are so clean and complete so early while also preparing for the Macy’s Parade this year. I wonder how the show will progress or if anything will be added in the next month. Will it peak early? Doubt it, because it is a fantastic and versatile show with tons of demand and effect. I do feel that the color story is oddly similar to last year with the gold and purple/red. And the curvy and circular drill doesn’t do much to differentiate the two. Both are phenomenal products, but I couldn’t not compare while watching.

Just saw a video or Reagan and HOLY COW was it good! Thanks to their amazing drill writing and almost 90 member guard, they don’t need props to convey a visual theme. The show definitely feels very similar to last year BUT I think it is even better. I have a feeling that this will be the show that people wish went to Nats by the end of the season.

I don’t know what has all been said here...but they didn’t perform in finals because the guard performed barefoot in prelims when it was 95 degrees outside. The turf was estimated as 140 degrees. Saw a parent say that on the Owasso Facebook page so I can’t confirm the validity of that data.

Here are some personal thoughts regarding the competition last night: If anything was made clear, I think it’s that all the returning SA finalists (FloMo, Hebron, Marcus, Keller, and Bell) have really stepped it up this year. And what I love most about this season is that each band is embracing their “brand” and what makes them unique more than ever. FloMo is still super artsy and eccentric, and Hebron is still simple in theme but has insane musical depth. Marcus is still quirky, whimsical, and sophisticated. I wasn’t feeling Marcus’ show in prelims but after finals, I just loved it. Keller still tries to work a strong inspirational message into the theme while pushing more difficulty every year, and Bell has that super recognizable and striking visual style (I know I said I would like to see them ditch Cartwright, but I take that back. I just really want to see the kids given a product that challenges them and can peak at the right time). Wakeland blew me away with their cleanliness and depth of design. Coppell had such a unique yet simple visual design paired with intense and emotional music. Waxahachie was just plain fun, and it was so nice to see TC and KC in finals.

After seeing Austin, Houston, and DFW play out, this is how I see things going into this competition. 1. Keller - I just hope they get the whole show on the field for this competition. I know that should probably be a given but sometimes they wait till the week before SA to perform the whole thing. They are a consistent SA finalist and have been close to the top half for 2 years. One of the most consistent bands overall in Texas and will be looking for their first ever regional championship. -gap- 2. James Bowie - Very solid at Austin. Could be closer to Keller but their recent success has been good yet somewhat inconsistent. 3. Seven Lakes - Shocked they weren’t in finals at Houston, but it was extremely close and the performance was pretty messy. 4. Waxahachie - Shockingly and undeservingly low in DFW prelims but better in finals. Just needs a few weeks to clean. 5. Hendrickson - Could probably be as high as second but Austin results were definitely concerning. A previous SA finalist so watch out for them as the season progresses.

Yes, the guard is definitely smaller this year. Just over 40 this year compared to it think around 60 last year. I think they might have lost the middle school guard program or maybe there was a fall off after Macy’s. I’ll go farther and say that Keller’s guard staging was not effective. The flag line is staged behind the band like in DCI but the line is too small and the work isn’t as eye catching as DCI for that staging to work. Also, the Cape Fear hit should be a swing flag moment. There needs to be a larger visual presence to match the massive sound.

I agree. The props are really cheesy. Since 2017, Keller has been pretty quirky with visual design choices, but like in a good way. This year feels childish and immature in my opinion.

Interesting that every judge had FloMo over Hebron but Marcus and Keller both had one judge favor them over FloMo. Also Keller with higher music GE than Hebron and almost beating them in GE overall???

In prelims Coppell was .1 points behind Keller. In finals the gap was 5.15 points.