bingogooberman

Schedule's out for TOC- smallest group I've ever seen at this comp, which worries me, but lots of talent here nonetheless- 3:00- Guyer HS 3:15- Plano Sr. HS 3:30- Legacy HS 3:45- Liberty HS 4:00- James Martin HS - 4:30- McKinney North HS 4:45- Berkner HS 5:00- J.J. Pearce HS 5:15- Frisco Centennial HS 5:30- Mansfield HS 5:45- Newman Smith HS (exhibition)

I know it COULD happen, and that Avon has topped some stellar Texas musical programs in the past, but I just can't imagine them winning the music caption here. Not with Hebron and FloMo pushing the boundaries of what can even be played on the field, not to mention countless other tx bands that, in my mind, can go toe to toe with Avon musically. Regardless of how everything else falls, I'd be flat out stunned if Avon somehow took the music caption here. They're obviously a stellar program that plays really really well, but I see them in a 3rd-5th range, though 2nd doesn't seem too far fetched either. (Similarly, I'd be stunned if they DONT take the visual caption)

With the realignment, Barbers Hill is Area E. Looks like we'll probably see 3 advancers here, 4 if we're lucky. Richland shouldn't have problem running away with this and Aledo seems like a pretty safe bet for a trip to state as well. the last spot(s) could go to Chisholm Trail, Birdville, Newman Smith, Colleyville Heritage, Boswell or Azle. Should be a nice, competitive competition

1. Flower Mound- I'm sure they're thirsty for a National championship, and judging by how clean they were early season last year, I have a hard time seeing anyone topping them at this particular competition 2. Marcus- Here's hoping they step it up design wise for this trip to Nationals, because they have the talent and the resources. I'd love to see them do something more narrative driven with a sense of humor- classic Marcus ala 2006-2008. Even if they don't deliver on the design, they'll likely be clean enough to top Hebron 3. Hebron- Watch out for them end of season, as they've really been going for it in non-state years lately. This regional is likely too early for them to clean what will likely be the hardest musical book in the country, but you never know. 4. L.D. Bell- I think they're likely still pretty shaken by missing finals in SA, especially considering last year was one of their strongest in a while. Hopefully they can focus their frustration and funnel into success, and recapture the magic. 5. Keller- Could top Bell, but either way, I'd be pretty surprised if they don't finally make it back to the top half of finals at this competition. What a roll they've been on lately! 6. Vista Ridge- Tacking this on their schedule feels like a smart decision, allowing them to flex their muscles a bit without getting over shadowed by their LISD brethren. 7. Coppell- Last year feels like a hiccup. Having the entire team from Wakeland shift over to a massive program with some of the most outstanding feeder schools in the nation, and one that regularly sends 10+ students to All-State, and with even more resources than they had before, it just feels like they're bound to break out in a big way. VR is a safer choice to top them, but I could absolutely see them switched. 8. Duncanville- They are going to be determined to make finals in their big return, and their size and musical prowess leads me to believe they shouldn't have a problem doing that. Conroe finals likely would have eluded them, so, again, wise choice 9. Keller Central- They typically come out of the gate really strong, and they're so ambitious design-wise that I have hard time seeing them miss. 10. Timber Creek- They were so close last year in a stronger field, and one can only assume they'll improve even more. This will position them well for a run at a medal in Midland. BUT ALSO, Waxahachie, who will be looking for a medal at state Wakeland, who will settle into a new staff with a better idea of what they're capable of- also looking for that medal that has eluded them for almost a decade now James Martin, who should easily make finals if they can recapture last year's magic. AND MAYBE... Aledo, Summit, Chisholm Trail, Pflugerville (remember when they shockingly got 4th here???) Plano East, maybe even Lone Star?

True, but timber creek had a breakthrough year last year and seem poised to continue their drastic rate of improvement, though Bellevue west will likely remain out of reach for them. I wouldnt be surprised though

Bellevue West seems like a pretty solid bet for 2nd place, though we'll see how timber creek does at southlake. Berkner might need a bit more time to rebuild before they're in a place where they can top them but who knows.

If they're planning on accommodating 60 bands at a one day competition, I suspect there might not be a finals. Otherwise i think they take 15? Idk, usbands is hard to follow

I've noticed more and more regions moving their UIL competitions to weekday evenings, and I could also see plenty of bands double booking this with UIL, just for the opportunity to play there. USBands isn't my favorite in terms of judging rubrics but this seems like a great season ender for smaller programs and a good warm up for State/super regional for some bigger programs

I'm not entirely sure but I would imagine it's the uncertainty of the venue combined with smaller attendance numbers. Lately, the number of bands have been in the mid 30s, something you'd expect from a Texas mid season regional as opposed to the 60+ that attend the other super regionals

There aren't a lot of great alternatives. The closest domed stadium is Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL, which isn't ideal for many reasons (centrality, and the fact that it's a baseball stadium chief among them) Though, BOA has hosted regionals there in the past. A domed stadium is pretty necessary for a super regional, and is one of they key draws for bands outside the Atlanta region to attend, and the fact that Atlanta is officially no longer a super regional is discouraging. It will likely end up being held at some college facility either in or near Atlanta.

Definitely a strange collection of bands. It's pretty difficult to predict how everything will play out, since these bands don't often compete against one another, but here goes nothing- 1. Claudia Taylor Johnson HS, TX- Obviously. Would be legitimately stunned if they somehow lost this one. 2. Timber Creek HS, TX- This band is surging and seem to have a BOA focus (for a while they had 4 BOA events on their calendar, before dropping Conroe.) I see them holding off Berkner and could even be competitive for some captions with CTJ- Harlingen did it, after all. 3. Berkner HS, TX- Would absolutely love to see them excel here. As recently as 2010, they were top 5 at SA. Could absolutely see them on top of Timber Creek, but we'll see. 4. Clovis HS, NM- I predict a significant score gap between the top 3 and the next group of bands, but of that next group of bands, Clovis seems to have the most complete package in terms of music performance, visual execution, and design. This is a great regional for them and I hope to see them become regulars here. 5. Lewisville HS, TX- Lewisville doesn't quite have all the same resources that its LISD powerhouse sister schools have, and the split 9-10 campuses doesn't help matters, but they are better than a lot of people give them credit for and have shown a commitment to improving in the last few years that makes me think this regional will provide a great platform for them to grow. 6. McNeil HS, TX- They've been sounding great lately and that should take them far here. Definitely competitive for a top half finish. 7. Sherman HS, TX- They've been strangely absent from peoples predictions for this contest, considering they've been consistently competitive for DECADES at this point, and were very nearly super regional finalists at Atlanta this year. I could even see them in the top 5 here. 8. Del Rio HS, TX- They were in very good company at Area H finals and held their own. I see this regional as a great opportunity for them to shine and grow. 9. Fossil Ridge HS, TX- I think it's only a matter of time before Fossil Ridge starts getting closer to where they were 10-15 years ago, and I could absolutely see them finishing higher than this, but either way, this is a perfect contest for them. 10. Coronado HS, TX- IF this is El Paso Coronado, I see them rounding out the top 10, where I think design/GE, backed by solid playing and movement, will carry them in over others. If it isn't... W. Charles Akins HS, TX- Though I could easily see them in even if it is El Paso, just 10 years ago they were UIL 5A State Finalists. They're a solid program with a rich history, and are familiar with BOA competition. Possible Spoilers: Permian, Kempner and Frenship

I'm no expert on the southeast, but after snooping around a bit and watching some videos, here's a rough prediction of how I think it'll go down- 1. Tarpon Springs HS, FL 2. Wando HS, SC 3. Cedar Ridge HS, TX 4. Park Vista HS, FL 5. Keller Central HS, TX 6. Haltom HS, TX 7. Walton HS, GA 8. James F. Byrnes HS, SC 9. Fort Mill HS, SC 10. Lafayette HS, LA Of course, this is all dependent on where this event ends up being held. Will be interesting to see if anyone drops out if MFA can't secure Mercedes Benz (which at this point seems very likely) Strange to see Harrison skipping this one, and even stranger to predict Kennesaw Mountain to miss finals, but unless they drastically improve from last season, I don't see them surviving the cut down from 12 finalists to 10. Tarpon likely remains unbeatable, though Wando was much closer to them than many would have thought last season, and are absolutely the only other group here that could pull off a win. Could definitely see Park Vista in the top 3, but I think Cedar Ridge will shine here. People seem down on them lately, but I think this will likely serve as a reminder of how competitive they still are. Keller Central and Haltom both feel like finals locks, and will likely end up duking it out for a spot in the top half of finals, though I could possibly see Walton challenging them, as a- they are great and have been forever, and b- they're headed to Grand Nats- and bands typically see a boost in Nats years, as they usually bring their very best to the table. People have been down on Lafayette as well, and they may not be the national finalists they were a few years ago, but I still think they'll make the cut, though there are others i could see in the top 10 (like Blue Springs South.) I see Trinity with a strong finish somewhere in the teens, but you never know- I don't think many people thought Sherman would be as close to Atlanta finals as they were last year.

Some takeaways- Prosper at grand nats (while skipping southlake) is quite the surprise, especially in a State year. Could def see them in semis. Midland is quite the eclectic mix, glad to see groups from all over though not as many El Paso boa regulars as I would have thought. Conroe is totally insane, have never seen an early season Texas regional so jam packed, it's going to be a total bloodbath. Hopefully the Atlanta situation works out as it's looking pretty strong attendance wise, with Haltom, Cedar ridge and Keller central looking like sure things for finals- and judging from shermans near miss in finals last year trinity might even stand a chance as well. McAllen will be interesting- dripping Springs looks like the favorite though this should be a pretty good gauge for just how good Harlingen and pioneer are. Speaking of Pioneer, should be interesting to see how they fare at Austin. glad to see them branching out. Might they make a splash at 5a this year? Exciting!

Very early finals predix (alphabetical) ALEDO CEDAR PARK CENTENNIAL DRIPPING SPRINGS LAKE RIDGE PROSPER RICHLAND ROUSE WAKELAND WAXAHACHIE

My seminal game changer show was definitely Marcus 07 (though bell 06 was the first show that I really dove into on YouTube) seeing them at BOA Arlington is probably still the most arresting live viewing experience ever for me. The musicality really was breathtaking, particularly with regard to how early in the season it was and the standard for the time. And the design both visually and narratively speaking was impeccable. It's one of the only shows I remember seeing that could make a whole stadium erupt in laughter. And the opening of the lily pads in make our garden grow was really stunning. its really a shame that there isn't a complete video available

To follow up on this, Reagan, Churchill, Hendrickson, Vandegrift, Round Rock, Duncanville and Coppell all have Conroe on their calendars.

They used to go in the 90s, made grand national finals a few times, then stopped.

Was perusing band calendars and lots of competitive non-Houston area bands have it on theirs, including Duncanville (!!!!!)

Fairly certain both Flower Mound and Marcus will attend next year, due to the new state schedule. I would imagine we won't see many more bands opting to attend nationals on a state year due to the amount of consecutive days students would be out of class. Woodlands and Round Rock seem like sure things as well.

If 2 music judges and 1 marching judge rank you first, you win, regardless of what your final score ends up being. Thus north Lamar beats argyle even though they have 13 to argyle's 11

http://lonestarclassic-dlc.com/schedule Schedule posted above. Marching doesn't look too competitive, will likely come down to returning champions Hebron and perennial powerhouse Flower Mound. SS1 Silver has reigning Caldwell Cup winners (highest score across all classes) Vandegrift returning, Vista Ridge and Plano East, with 2015 SS1 Red Champions Coppell moving up. Would imagine those 4 will be joined in finals by Cedar Ridge or maybe Westlake?? (i have no idea how good they are, have they ever been to this contest?) SS1 Red has Newman Smith and Highland Park returning, alongside 2015 finalists Springtown. Wylie also returns, having been quite competitive in the past, as well as 2015 SS2 Red champions Keller Central and 2015 SS2 Silver champions Haltom. Pflugerville, Aledo and McCallum might be able to make some noise as well. For finals I'm thinking Smith, Highland Park, Haltom, Aledo and Keller Central, but we'll see. This is a tight group. SS2 Silver is looking quite competitive. Chisholm Trail stands out to me as the likely winner, but Azle pulled off the Caldwell Cup win a few years back and Lake Ridge, Lake Dallas, Forney, Plano West, Frisco, Granbury, Klein and McKinney North (among others) have all been competitive in recent years. This could end up going a number of ways. SS2 Red is looking wide open, as Granbury and Keller Central have both moved up (Keller Central probably shouldn't have been there in the first place.) Maybe R.L. Turner will be able to pull this one off??? should be exciting!

I think the suggestion was that with state now occurring the same week as grand nats, the fact that attending both contests would require the band to miss an entire week of school (plus the Friday before potentially for SA) the district would be unwilling to let their bands compete at both contests in one year. Therefore, flomo gets bumped up to 2017 with Marcus

Wish retreat had been implemented the year I went to state. Always thought it was super anti-climactic to just have the medalists announced and be done with it.

Full Recap- http://www.nshsband.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/TOC-2016-results.pdf

Until then, would anyone happen to know how the rest of finals went down?