2025 Melissa Marching Showcase (Sept. 27)

[glyde]

Now with Hebron confirmed attending this contest (I heard rumors but did not get verification), things get prickly for top 3. Lone Star will most likey get dethroned as grand champs here. Hebron's show is pretty cool visually so far for August and the music is amazing as always. I dont believe that Lone Star can take 1st, they will most likely receive 2nd.

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For my current top 5 rankings

1. Hebron - Music, Visual

2. Lone Star - Perc

3. Braswell - Guard

4. McKinney/Argyle

5. Mckinney/Argyle

(Could see Rockhill on here but not on my list)

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As for why Hebron chose this contest over HEB or Wylie, I can say right away the adjudicator panel at Melissa is more stacked compared to HEB. Also it is evident that Marcus has the ace card at HEB. I recall Hebron attending Mesquite and obviously winning mutiple times as the competition there is not as intense as BOA Regional. If they perform well here, it is possible they return the following years for the quality feedback and 1st place. 

[glyde]

7 minutes ago, Conor graeigh said:

Okays guys back from the summer ! 
we all know Hebron has officially joined the contest so here are my top 12 

1.Hebron 

2. lone star 

3. Braswell 

4. Rh/ McKinney 

5. Argyle 

6. McKinney north 

7. Lakeview centennial 

8. Lebanon trail 

9. little Elm 

10. Celina 

11.  McKinney rock hill 

12. sulphur springs 

not sure I’ve watched some of these performances from clips! Hope to see these bands do well.

I highly doubt LT will be placed 8th after getting 4th last year.

[Conor graeigh]

1 minute ago, glyde said:

I highly doubt LT will be placed 8th after getting 4th last year.

Anything can happen ! That’s why it is called predictions… but I’m sure they will make top 12 

[DudeBro]

44 minutes ago, OGFISD99 said:

NL has always been good but not over the top... even  26 years ago when I was in school they were good but nothing to scream about  like  Hebron, Cedar Park, Coppell Rouse, vista ridge, Carmel ,tarpon springs,  Marcus,  FloMo. ...... Back then, Poteet ,duncanville, Keller, Grapevine, Colleyville, Keller Fossil ridge were like them.. 1999.. 

I wasn’t talking about NL vs those bands. They like 5-6 bigger than us. I was talking about us vs Farmersville.

[JFNDOWBFAN]

5 hours ago, BbMarching said:

I think they mean overall 

Oh, I understood what they were saying. I was implying I don’t see that happening. Perhaps taking a caption award but not overall

[JFNDOWBFAN]

Isn’t this fun? Back to talking about bands and making predictions on how students from the age of 14-18 are going to do in competitions where for most part none of us have seen bands other than our own? 😂 

Feel like we need those stock market warnings. What is it, past performance aren’t indicators of future success. 

Let’s be fairly honest with ourselves….if you aren’t one of the Big 3 at a contest, you could finish anywhere from 4-12-16. 
 

But it only takes 2 special marches a contest to shock the world!

Yes!!!! This fun. There is almost a crisp in the air of October!

Good luck to all the bands!!!

[TrenBS]

The TXbands mods forgot to put Hebron in the prediction for this contest lol, just pointing it out before too many predictions will need to be resubmitted

Also I feel the same about the sentiment from the post above, many people here arent going to have seen almost any of these bands, and predictions will pretty obviously reflect that fact. With that being said, people shouldnt feel afraid to make a more bold prediction, and people really shouldnt get upset at someone for spitballing a prediction that could easily be very very wrong. I think as long as somebody isnt trying to say their choice is superior or that somebody elses is dumb, I dont care where they put certain bands from that point its their opinion.

For newer people, dont be afraid to put Hebron 3rd behind Argyle and Lakeview Centennial, give the AA band best brass, put whatever your heart tells you especially for these early local competitions because generally the placements here dont indicate the future, as long as you dont act toxic to other peoples opinion or disagree with them anything is ok in my book.

(Little aside though, I think saying whatever is fine for the early season comps up to area, but BOA San Antonio and Grand Nationals usually have more hardcore band/DCI fans who actively watch every single band and have more educated opinions discussing in a more intense style. Dont be afraid to drop predictions or to participate of course, but dont be surprised if your post gets swept under by a heated conversation or where 3 people are locked in, haha).
Prediction:
1. Hebron (Caption Sweep)
2. Lone Star
3. Braswell
4. McKinney High
5. Rock Hill
6. Argyle
7. McKinney North
8. Lebanon Trail
9. Lakeview Centennial
10. Little Elm
11. Celina
12. Sulphur Springs
 

[Dave609]

The minute I saw Hebron on the list, I was shocked. This just shook up my predictions

[TrenBS]

1 minute ago, Dave609 said:

The minute I saw Hebron on the list, I was shocked. This just shook up my predictions

It was the exact feeling I had when I saw FloMo on the '21 WMI schedule lmao

[SharksAreCool]

1 hour ago, TrenBS said:

The TXbands mods forgot to put Hebron in the prediction for this contest lol, just pointing it out before too many predictions will need to be resubmitted

Also I feel the same about the sentiment from the post above, many people here arent going to have seen almost any of these bands, and predictions will pretty obviously reflect that fact. With that being said, people shouldnt feel afraid to make a more bold prediction, and people really shouldnt get upset at someone for spitballing a prediction that could easily be very very wrong. I think as long as somebody isnt trying to say their choice is superior or that somebody elses is dumb, I dont care where they put certain bands from that point its their opinion.

For newer people, dont be afraid to put Hebron 3rd behind Argyle and Lakeview Centennial, give the AA band best brass, put whatever your heart tells you especially for these early local competitions because generally the placements here dont indicate the future, as long as you dont act toxic to other peoples opinion or disagree with them anything is ok in my book.

(Little aside though, I think saying whatever is fine for the early season comps up to area, but BOA San Antonio and Grand Nationals usually have more hardcore band/DCI fans who actively watch every single band and have more educated opinions discussing in a more intense style. Dont be afraid to drop predictions or to participate of course, but dont be surprised if your post gets swept under by a heated conversation or where 3 people are locked in, haha).
Prediction:
1. Hebron (Caption Sweep)
2. Lone Star
3. Braswell
4. McKinney High
5. Rock Hill
6. Argyle
7. McKinney North
8. Lebanon Trail
9. Lakeview Centennial
10. Little Elm
11. Celina
12. Sulphur Springs
 

Pretty solid list, although I do think James Martin could make top 12, but that’s just me.

[criscubes]

Farmersville is going to Whitesboro after prelims 

[lidollyband]

I do think after lakeview made state for the first time last year, they might be the underdogs

[Fritz0310]

Before hebron was added I was sure Braswell would take 1st since at every match between LS and Braswell, Braswell has won. Alongside their 5th place finish last year at Area J (they should've made state...). But for captions, I believe Hebron will take visual and music whereas braswell will take percussion and guard. Since both percussion sections were chosen for pasic, (I heard from a few friends who go to hebron and braswell say that hebron got 3rd and braswell took 2nd) and with how well braswell has been doing in these past few years, I believe there is a good chance they can steal a caption or 2 from hebron

[TrenBS]

1 hour ago, Fritz0310 said:

Before hebron was added I was sure Braswell would take 1st since at every match between LS and Braswell, Braswell has won. Alongside their 5th place finish last year at Area J (they should've made state...). But for captions, I believe Hebron will take visual and music whereas braswell will take percussion and guard. Since both percussion sections were chosen for pasic, (I heard from a few friends who go to hebron and braswell say that hebron got 3rd and braswell took 2nd) and with how well braswell has been doing in these past few years, I believe there is a good chance they can steal a caption or 2 from hebron

The most I would be able to see a stolen caption from Hebron would probably be percussion, but those percussion competitions usually grade on a completely seperate criteria than marching band and theres different skills that the judges look for, in which I believe personally Hebron will sweep.

Not a negative to Braswell, its just how it plays out, McKinney Boyd got 1st in one of the PASIC circuits and was an invited ensemble but their percussion didnt even break into the teens at state

[Tubalord11]

4 hours ago, archeryfan0267 said:

1st: Hebron - I honestly think this won't be a complete blowout. Bands like Lonestar are good at being solid early season and having the whole show on the field, whereas 6A bands like Hebron may not have their closer out in September.

2nd: Lonestar - I think they're coming in knowing this contest and this venue since they did this competition two years in a row and had area here the same years. If they don't take a judge from Hebron I think they keep it relatively close in the caption scores. I haven't seen their show yet but Lonestar has been a super consistently upticking band the last 4 years, every one has been better than the last.

3rd: Braswell - Honestly I think there's like 3-5 bands that could take 3rd here but I'm going to go with Braswell purely based on a momentum swing from last year.

4th: Lebanon Trail - I think they're mad about last year and come out swinging to start the season

5th: Argyle - They seem to do pretty well with a UIL judging system but I think they clean better later in the season

6th: McKinney North - Another band that I think starts to clean better in the later season just because of their style of show

7th: Rock Hill - Super talented and successful program since they're so young. I tend to have less faith in 6A shows early in the season because they tend to take longer to develop, but they could totally make it on the podium.

8th: McKinney High - They could also be as high as 3rd and I wouldn't bat an eye, but the 3-8 range is gonne be DENSE here

9th: Walnut Grove - Sleeper pick? Maybe. I could see them either being a fringe finalist or cutting into that top 8/7. They were fantastic last year at area, just have to see if they can build on it.

10th: Lakeview Centennial - Another good band on the list, and a consistent finalist at a lot of local contests. 

11th: Frisco Memorial - This band is interesting. I think they put out a consistent product from year to year: it's clean. Simple? Maybe, but in an effective way that I like a lot. However their competition placements tend to be up and down over the course of the season. I have no clue where to solidly put them.

12th: Celina - It's really tough for any 4A bands to make it to the evening show where there's so many 5A/6A bands, but if anyone's to do it, it would be Celina. They do well with the UIL style panels and have great, clean, and satisfying show design

I could be dead wrong about a lot if these but that's just how it goes when you predict placements before any competitions happen. I could see James Martin, Little Elm, Sulphur Springs, China Springs, or Rowlett getting into that 10-12 range but its gonna be a tough battle for finals.

Walnut Grove isn't coming here anymore  

[OGFISD99]

7 minutes ago, Tubalord11 said:

Walnut Grove isn't coming here anymore  

Wow..... I wonder if anymore bands will drop out. 

[Tubalord11]

2 minutes ago, OGFISD99 said:

Wow..... I wonder if anymore bands will drop out. 

they've been off for a while, but I don't think anymore will 

[crown_glazer]

7 hours ago, archeryfan0267 said:

1st: Hebron - I honestly think this won't be a complete blowout. Bands like Lonestar are good at being solid early season and having the whole show on the field, whereas 6A bands like Hebron may not have their closer out in September.

2nd: Lonestar - I think they're coming in knowing this contest and this venue since they did this competition two years in a row and had area here the same years. If they don't take a judge from Hebron I think they keep it relatively close in the caption scores. I haven't seen their show yet but Lonestar has been a super consistently upticking band the last 4 years, every one has been better than the last.

3rd: Braswell - Honestly I think there's like 3-5 bands that could take 3rd here but I'm going to go with Braswell purely based on a momentum swing from last year.

4th: Lebanon Trail - I think they're mad about last year and come out swinging to start the season

5th: Argyle - They seem to do pretty well with a UIL judging system but I think they clean better later in the season

6th: McKinney North - Another band that I think starts to clean better in the later season just because of their style of show

7th: Rock Hill - Super talented and successful program since they're so young. I tend to have less faith in 6A shows early in the season because they tend to take longer to develop, but they could totally make it on the podium.

8th: McKinney High - They could also be as high as 3rd and I wouldn't bat an eye, but the 3-8 range is gonne be DENSE here

9th: Walnut Grove - Sleeper pick? Maybe. I could see them either being a fringe finalist or cutting into that top 8/7. They were fantastic last year at area, just have to see if they can build on it.

10th: Lakeview Centennial - Another good band on the list, and a consistent finalist at a lot of local contests. 

11th: Frisco Memorial - This band is interesting. I think they put out a consistent product from year to year: it's clean. Simple? Maybe, but in an effective way that I like a lot. However their competition placements tend to be up and down over the course of the season. I have no clue where to solidly put them.

12th: Celina - It's really tough for any 4A bands to make it to the evening show where there's so many 5A/6A bands, but if anyone's to do it, it would be Celina. They do well with the UIL style panels and have great, clean, and satisfying show design

I could be dead wrong about a lot if these but that's just how it goes when you predict placements before any competitions happen. I could see James Martin, Little Elm, Sulphur Springs, China Springs, or Rowlett getting into that 10-12 range but its gonna be a tough battle for finals.

imo I think this is probably the most accurate ranking so far

[ahhAtBand]

im from the future.. china spring will place first just beating hebron 

[TubaTurkey57]

I think it will be interesting to see how all the different bands are going to compare against each other going into this new season, especially with the addition of so many new bands compared to last year, such as Hebron, Braswell, McKinney North, and Lakeview Centennial. I also think it will be interesting to see how the bands will fare with the UIL style judging panel and how that will fare with their shows and possibly effect the results as some bands such as Braswell are known to have more production oriented shows. I'm also excited to see so many great bands early on in the season and see how they will develop as the season progresses, and to see how some smaller bands such as Lonestar or McKinney North might be able to better clean their show early on in the season, and how that might favor them with the UIL style judging panel. Although the it may be obvious to most who will win, I think that 2-8 could be a complete toss up and depend lots on the performance of the different ensembles and could even change drastically from prelims to finals. With all that said here are my current top 12 for the Melissa Marching Showcase:

1. Hebron - Music, Visual

2. Lonestar - Percussion

3. Braswell - Guard

4. McKinney

5. Argyle

6. McKinney North

7. Rock Hill

8. Lebanon Trail

9. Lakeview Centennial

10. Frisco Memorial

11. Celina

12. James Martin

[Tubalord11]

1 hour ago, Helaband said:

I think it will be interesting to see how all the different bands are going to compare against each other going into this new season, especially with the addition of so many new bands compared to last year, such as Hebron, Braswell, McKinney North, and Lakeview Centennial. I also think it will be interesting to see how the bands will fare with the UIL style judging panel and how that will fare with their shows and possibly effect the results as some bands such as Braswell are known to have more production oriented shows. I'm also excited to see so many great bands early on in the season and see how they will develop as the season progresses, and to see how some smaller bands such as Lonestar or McKinney North might be able to better clean their show early on in the season, and how that might favor them with the UIL style judging panel. Although the it may be obvious to most who will win, I think that 2-8 could be a complete toss up and depend lots on the performance of the different ensembles and could even change drastically from prelims to finals. With all that said here are my current top 12 for the Melissa Marching Showcase:

1. Hebron - Music, Visual

2. Lonestar - Percussion

3. Braswell - Guard

4. McKinney

5. Argyle

6. McKinney North

7. Rock Hill

8. Lebanon Trail

9. Lakeview Centennial

10. Frisco Memorial

11. Celina

12. James Martin

Lonestar is not small lol, but I think this is a very solid list! 

[SharksAreCool]

1 hour ago, Tubalord11 said:

Lonestar is not small lol, but I think this is a very solid list! 

If LoneStar is small, what do we call bands like Celina?

[OGFISD99]

I know I'm probably way off mark but I think Lone Star could come close to pulling off music over percussion... but I'm probably just dreaming... lol... 

[rudy12]

I see that there will be a small school exhibition in finals and some really good 4 As fighting for those spots. Here are my predictions:

1- Celina. They are great but I don’t know if they can get in to normal finals. They will beat all the rest of them

2- Canton. They are a great band with something to prove. They are looking to make a statement early.

3- SS. Another great band but I don’t think they’re show does them any favors

4- NL. Their show is more exciting this year and not to dirty from the first game. But will they have more than the opener on by this time?

5- CS. I saw a livestream and it was pretty messy. But with the history they can overtake SS and NL and I wouldn’t be surprised

6- Farmersville I have not seen anything from them and am basing on past performance

7- Krum. Same as Farmersville

[Tubalord11]

2 hours ago, OGFISD99 said:

I know I'm probably way off mark but I think Lone Star could come close to pulling off music over percussion... but I'm probably just dreaming... lol... 

yeah…..I don’t see Hebron losing music. & honestly them, LS and maybe someone else will probably be better close in drums, Hebron’s has been improving a good amount over the years but I think LS will take it?