2025 Melissa Marching Showcase (Sept. 27)

[WanderingTraveler]

North Forney: This might be my favorite show thematically. Really committed to the snake theme, including the props and the cool uniforms. Definitely a show that doesn’t lack GE. Spacing in the opener was a bit inconsistent. Woodwinds have an amazing presence in the opener, before the opening hit. Loving some of these sustained chords and sounds from the low brass. Love that there is not a stale moment in this show. Impressed by the dynamic control of this group, but sometimes its hard for the trumpets to keep up with how soft the dynamic is. Also, welcome back The Bluecoats!!! Difficult show!!

Also am I tripping or is this like the third show with bass 4 missing.

[WanderingTraveler]

Sulphur Springs: Use of the field is incredible in this show. The tone set by the pre show is nice. Another show of stacked repertoire!! Some of these forms are wicked, love it. Technically very clean, but occasionally lacks direction with phrasing. Bari Sax and Bass Clarinet sounds are very nice, but occasionally overpower the group. Super tasteful clarinet solo, super talented control of your instruments responsiveness. Welcome back Pinstriped! Well done. I could see y’all easily medaling this year at state.
 

This show also had no bass 4, but this felt intentional.

[yoyisr]

23 minutes ago, sparksyyy said:

curious to know how lakeview did in prelims...anyone have thoughts that saw it live? super interested to see how their season goes.

apparently they tied for 12th place (not sure with who), and they had to go with a tie breaker. not 100% sure but that's what I've been told

[WanderingTraveler]

Braswell: Welcome back Blue Devils!!! Super impressive opening hit, WHAT A SOUND. Visually a very clean show, and you guys have a great grasp on dynamic control. The backdrop of this show is beautiful. Y’all seem to have a very good idea for the vision of yalls production, and it shows. Ballad soloist has one of the most pure brass tones I have ever heard from a high schooler. Love the brass octet(?). Some transitions between notes are muddy, but thats me being picky. Features from the Sousas, snares, and plenty others are great. Y’all are going to be competitive this year. Bravo.

[WanderingTraveler]

Lone Star: What a way to start. Man, y’all produce a lot of sound. Technique for the woodwinds in the opener is executed well. The use of stages gives the illusion of poor spacing at times, but all other drill looks good. HOLY MELLOS, I missed y’all. Clarinet soloists mic could be turned up in the ballad, at least in this stadium. Very impressive listening to each other when stretched so thin across the field after the drum break. I could see you and Wakeland having a very competitive area head-to-head this year.

[WanderingTraveler]

Argyle: Ressurection Symphony is top 3 classical works imo. Opening hit was nice. Bit of visual and marching inconsistency in the beginning. Ensemble balance is well done, and the spacing in between notes is super well defined. One of my favorite ballad hits of the day, and I love how warm the end of the ballad felt. This year’s Area B is going to be brutal.

[Cluelessbanddad]

12 minutes ago, WanderingTraveler said:

Lone Star: What a way to start. Man, y’all produce a lot of sound. Technique for the woodwinds in the opener is executed well. The use of stages gives the illusion of poor spacing at times, but all other drill looks good. HOLY MELLOS, I missed y’all. Clarinet soloists mic could be turned up in the ballad, at least in this stadium. Very impressive listening to each other when stretched so thin across the field after the drum break. I could see you and Wakeland having a very competitive area head-to-head this year.

I’ve seen both Wakeland and Lone Star now.  I think LS is better at this point 

[WanderingTraveler]

Mckinney: I was not expecting that sound…Y’all are loud. Theres a lot going on in your show, but honestly, I think it all works well together. Technically a very demanding book, and theres a bit still to iron out in the opener, but y’all are doing very well. Different ensemble sound than I am used to from this group, and I really like it. Slight mello intonation issues in the ballad. Percussion chops are nice this year!!! Y’all definitely want that state spot in Area J, and I could see y’all taking it. Excited for y’alls season.

[crown_glazer]

59 minutes ago, yoyisr said:

apparently they tied for 12th place (not sure with who), and they had to go with a tie breaker. not 100% sure but that's what I've been told

They tied with Liberty, and also LC perc got 3rd overall. Also, how do they determine a tie?

[WanderingTraveler]

Lebanon Trail: Cool guard uniforms!! Love the pre show and opener visuals. This group has such a nice timbre. Drill for this show was written extremely well. Y’all win the snappiest horns up and down for the day. Brass follow the leader kind of looks strange, but other than that, the staging in this was very well done. One heck of a bari sax sound in the ballad. Was expecting a bit more build up to the ballad hits, but still sounded good. Again, Area B is gonna be a mess. Cool show theme & execution, and well done.

[WanderingTraveler]

Hebron: Wow. Great showing from y’all. Dynamics and Articulation were insane here. That opening trumpet run was super clean, and the woodwind features / double tonguing was great. Forget which DCI show that music selection before the ballad was in, but throwback!!! Marching and running(?!?) technique in the ballad was on point. Sorta just watched the show so not a lot to say. Great job and good luck winning state this year.

[dfwhorn]

Anyone have the results/recaps of this contest? Curious to see how it went

[Tubalord11]

2 hours ago, WanderingTraveler said:

Hebron: Wow. Great showing from y’all. Dynamics and Articulation were insane here. That opening trumpet run was super clean, and the woodwind features / double tonguing was great. Forget which DCI show that music selection before the ballad was in, but throwback!!! Marching and running(?!?) technique in the ballad was on point. Sorta just watched the show so not a lot to say. Great job and good luck winning state this year.

I’m pretty sure their ballad is crown 2013

 

2 minutes ago, dfwhorn said:

Anyone have the results/recaps of this contest? Curious to see how it went

^^^

[Mike McBandiel]

1. Hebron (music, visual, brass, woodwinds, percussion)

2. Lone Star

3. McKinney

4. Lebanon Trail

5. Argyle

6. Braswell

7. Rock Hill (guard)

8. McKinney North

9. North Forney

10. Celina

11. Sulphur Springs

12. Liberty

[Thatonedoublereed14]

Finals results:

 

1. Hebron (All captions except for guard)

2. Lone Star

3. McKinney 

4. LT

5. Argyle

6. Braswell

7. Rock Hill (Color Guard)

8. McKinney North

9. North Forney

10. Celina

11. Sulphur Springs

12. Liberty

[WanderingTraveler]

4 minutes ago, Mike McBandiel said:

1. Hebron (music, visual, brass, woodwinds, percussion)

2. Lone Star

3. McKinney

4. Lebanon Trail

5. Argyle

6. Braswell

7. Rock Hill (guard)

8. McKinney North

9. North Forney

10. Celina

11. Sulphur Springs

12. Liberty

Thanks!

[Tubalord11]

Congratulations to Hebron!! It looks like LT is back for vengeance. Still to early but I’m happy they have bounced back. Very curious about Braswell, thought they’d be top 5 at least and ig they were barely out but then again they do peak later in the season. Cant wait to see some of these awesome programs at prosper in a couple weeks! 

[Pumpkin]

Anyone got all the results of prelims? I’m curious on how scores went 

[Pumpkin]

Anyone know the ranking of all schools in prelims??

[Gpk1968]

3 hours ago, WanderingTraveler said:

Sulphur Springs: Use of the field is incredible in this show. The tone set by the pre show is nice. Another show of stacked repertoire!! Some of these forms are wicked, love it. Technically very clean, but occasionally lacks direction with phrasing. Bari Sax and Bass Clarinet sounds are very nice, but occasionally overpower the group. Super tasteful clarinet solo, super talented control of your instruments responsiveness. Welcome back Pinstriped! Well done. I could see y’all easily medaling this year at state.
 

This show also had no bass 4, but this felt intentional.

“Easily medaling this year at state”

lol

i think 4a state is going to be a bloodbath. We’ve already got celina and sulphur neck and neck with celina getting solid lead today. Panther creek didn’t seem to do as well as expected at their contest but I’m sure they will be a threat. Davenport looks amazing this year. We also cannot forget the 3-4 solid programs in west Texas that could be on the podium. I wouldn’t call it easy for anyone!

[WanderingTraveler]

3 minutes ago, GarbagePatchKid said:

“Easily medaling this year at state”

lol

i think 4a state is going to be a bloodbath. We’ve already got celina and sulphur neck and neck with celina getting solid lead today. Panther creek didn’t seem to do as well as expected at their contest but I’m sure they will be a threat. Davenport looks amazing this year. We also cannot forget the 3-4 solid programs in west Texas that could be on the podium. I wouldn’t call it easy for anyone!

Didn't mean it in a direct way, was just saying it wouldn't surprise me! They sounded good, but of course it will be competitive and nothing is set in stone.

[diabolicallyintersted]

does anyone have judges' scores

[TexasStrangers]

It would not shock me if most of the 4A's start pulling out of this show and going somewhere else next year. Yes, you want to be competitive and you want quality feedback but when a majority of the field is 5A/6A bands that are big players you are almost setting yourself up to be a 1 run and your done. 

Celina is probably going up to 5A and is on an entire different level. Sulphur Springs use to be a 5A but dropped to 4A and could go back up (I don't think it will happen).  So, I would say unless you are probably top half 4A State Finalist I would probably stay away from this.  I saw a few other 4A's that went to other competitions this weekend and had some success. 

[JFNDOWBFAN]

9 hours ago, TexasStrangers said:

It would not shock me if most of the 4A's start pulling out of this show and going somewhere else next year. Yes, you want to be competitive and you want quality feedback but when a majority of the field is 5A/6A bands that are big players you are almost setting yourself up to be a 1 run and your done. 

Celina is probably going up to 5A and is on an entire different level. Sulphur Springs use to be a 5A but dropped to 4A and could go back up (I don't think it will happen).  So, I would say unless you are probably top half 4A State Finalist I would probably stay away from this.  I saw a few other 4A's that went to other competitions this weekend and had some success. 

It’s definitely a hard balance of considerations…..wanting to “compete”, wanting feedback…not wanting to travel far early in season. Contest we were at, could tell majority of shows are only about 75 percent. Do you want trophies or experience. 

[TexasStrangers]

3 minutes ago, JFNDOWBFAN said:

It’s definitely a hard balance of considerations…..wanting to “compete”, wanting feedback…not wanting to travel far early in season. Contest we were at, could tell majority of shows are only about 75 percent. Do you want trophies or experience. 

I would always vote for experience which is why I would go someplace where I had a good chance at getting 2 runs in. Yes, I'm sure a lot of these schools would say the judge quality was probably really good at Melissa. 

I'm not saying you need to go to some place where there is only a couple of 4A bands. Yes, most bands in the 1st week only do up to Movement 3 and yes there were probably some who didn't want to travel far. Those are all factors but for me I want to get as many runs as possible and as much feedback as possible. We all know shows in the middle of the afternoon are different then the ones under the lights which is why I would want to see both. 

There is no perfect answer.