saxobeat

Wow, this was a really fantastic year for performances. Of course, a giant round of applause to Rockwall ISD for their two qualifiers. I honestly had Heath in the 4 after seeing both shows, Heath had some of the most surprising sound I've heard in a while. Lake Highlands' show really appealed to me! I like the much more "chill" vibe they have going on. Really great pacing throughout. Super happy to see their high placement! Richardson's props were so cool! Those stages were ridiculously high. I really, REALLY loved Rockwall's ballad. That solo is just perfection. The other big standout I saw was Garland; I do think their ranking doesn't reflect their performance. I honestly had them in the 10-15 range as I'd seen their growth. IMO a bit more visual appeal would've pushed them over the top but still, I thought they deserved higher. Congrats to everyone!!

I highly doubt it, I've never seen a USBands comp do it.

Fair, it definitely did feel like just an opener.

Super happy to see them get some accolades! I agree, their percussion deserved their high ranking. Hoping that they can bring cleaner ensemble power in the future.

I liked their props quite a lot. There's an argument to be made for Richland taking effect for their props alone. I think Cen10 had much cleaner drill, though.

I honestly don't see #1 being anything other than Cen10, especially with how dominant they were at Saginaw. I think John Horn could bump up a couple, their show is actualy pretty solid.

List of performing groups from USBands website. GROUP I Legacy Christian Academy Blue Ridge HS Rio Vista HS GROUP II Lake Worth HS South Garland HS Naaman Forest HS La Vega HS GROUP III Everman HS Denison HS Cleburne HS Summit HS Burleson HS Garland HS Red Oak HS GROUP IV North Crowley HS Lewisville HS Paschal HS Granbury HS Burleson Centennial HS Joshua HS Fossil Ridge HS Crowley HS GROUP V Byron Nelson HS James Martin HS Duncanville HS Weatherford HS John Horn HS V. R. Eaton HS Tyler Legacy HS

I thought they did a great job in finals! I missed their preliminary performance, but from what I saw in finals, you guys have a great foundation for something special. I thought the ensemble sound could be more powerful and the drill definitely needs some tightening. Overall really good!

Thoughts on finals: Wildly impressive performances from all of the finalists! Definitely some outcomes people weren’t expecting. Centennial winning was to be expected, but a full caption sweep? Can’t hate it, their performance was electrifying. I was surprised to see Chisholm Trail stay in their prelims ranking! I saw both preliminary and finals performances and what they slightly lacked in ensemble power, I thought they more than made up for in visuals; their finals performance cleaned up their music like crazy too! I personally would’ve had them higher. Some other dark horses (grand saline - i was really impressed!, garland, saginaw, etc.) notably had some really great performances too. Thought that Lake Belton should’ve won guard - it was so stellar. Overall a great competition!

Garland ISD BandFest will not happen this year due to lack of funding. 😕