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UIL 5A Area F 2025

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Anthony V Collaborator

Anthony V

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Aledo. Great job with form control here at the beginning. You're even using it as you flutter step (or "fly") out to your set. Great articulation from the brass here in your feature in the opener, right before the aircraft flies out to the 45-ish. We're pretty controlled sounding here in the ballad. I feel like this performance is a bit more reserved than prelims, purchasing a little extra precision and accuracy. Good clean marching throughout. I'm thinking it's the strongest at this contest. A little  bit of volume loss at the last chord right before the last few counts, I guess when everyone took a final breath. But flaws are pretty minimal. Great job.

This is the band to beat tonight. I don't think that was an invincible performance -- there's an outside chance BC, Richland, or Midlothian (who we have yet to see) take the crown. But it was the front running performance for me in prelims, and might be so far tonight.

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wtxbd02
wtxbd02

Hello.  lol Yeah, cleaned things up.  Y'all behave.  It's just band.  Friendly competition and banter is great but we strayed past that.   Continue.  

PercDad4Life
PercDad4Life

That's how many times it took to have Aledo performing in the last slot.

Anthony V
Anthony V

It's my intention to be at both prelims and finals to make some commentary like I did for BOA Waco. Without the live blog, communication essentially comes down to Joe Q. Public. As I said elsewhere, I

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PercDad4Life Enthusiast

PercDad4Life

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Midlo: Very strong start.  Loved it.  Fantastic power.  Probably the best of the night.  Really good energy in closer.  Could be the area champ. I did see some drops in colorguard and minor drill issues.  But overall great job!!!

 

PercDad4Life Enthusiast

PercDad4Life

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Prediction time. But first, congratulations to all the area finalists. It was a fabulous competition and the finalist bands did not disappoint.

1. Cen10

2. Midlothian

3. Aledo

4. Richland

5. Azle

6. CH

7. Grapevine 

8. Birdville

9. Fossil Ridge

10. Chisholm Trail

 

Anthony V Collaborator

Anthony V

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Midlothian. For me, this is such a fun show. The performers really enjoy performing it. Great energy on the opening bit, as always. Tempo stability felt a little off in the first part. That translated a little bit into lack of confident playing/precise cutoffs. And we need full note value on these long chords before the stabs at the end of that first part. I wish we had a little more dynamic contrast here in part 2. The other bands in the presumptive top 4 are doing it really, really well. Some feet timing issues (ensemble consistency) when we’re moving slow, too. It’s starting to get cooler out here, so I wonder if that’s also contributing to some of these tuning issues here towards the end. But don’t get me wrong, this is definitely a strong show. These are just points of detail which I feel could affect competitivity within the top 5.

...

Alright, we’re still having that server capacity issue with Txbands again, so I can’t guarantee I’ll get these last two reviews up before finals awards. But let me say this was a great contest. It was really a pleasure to be here and to watch finals!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

10. Fossil Ridge

9. Chisholm Trail

8. Birdville

7. Azle

6. Grapevine

5. Colleyville Heritage. Advance.

4. Richland. (Broken tie.) Advance.

3. Midlothian. (Broken tie.) Advance.

2. Burleson Centennial. Advance.

1. Aledo. Advance.

Anthony V Collaborator

Anthony V

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Recovered from the void!!

Colleyville Heritage. Welcome to finals! This show has cleaned up a lot. There is still some inconsistency of execution in my humble, non-professional opinion. In some moments, this band sounds like they really deserve to be top 4. That's clearly what the judges heard in prelims. But it's offset by some other moments. As to this performance, continuity of design elements is clearer this go-round in finals. I think I needed a second watch to appreciate the achievement level. Visual execution is about the same as prelims to me. Energy is a little more reserved than in prelims, but the precision and accuracy purchased makes all the different for where this show is right now. It could stay in the top 5, but I can't gainsay that. 

Great performance overall. I'm glad to say I was wrong about being wishy-washy about considering you possible top-5 material.  You are.

PercDad4Life Enthusiast

PercDad4Life

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@BandMom2026.....  love the passion and sharing your thoughts.  I agree with your point, but am not sure which band is the source of your frustration.  I watched all of finals and did not notice this phenomenon.  Care to share?

goat_trumpet Contributor

goat_trumpet

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Does anyone understand the judge swap? This year, music 1 swapped with music 2 and that was it, but last year, M1 and M2 swapped to visual and vice versa, while M3 stayed. This is only pure curiosity as I don’t understand how they determine who does and doesn’t swap.

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SousaPain Apprentice

SousaPain

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I make a point to never read these threads until after the competition is over since I think it's just a lot of fun to look back on how perceptions of the different bands have evolved over time.  I think that TheJokerOfficial and Flutelife22 deserve special shout-outs because their predictions were pretty much on the money.  I think a lot of the projections that didn't have CH making finals, at all, were wishcasting.  Thanks so much to Anthony V and PercDad for their commentary on the shows.  These were great references for remembering all the performances.  It's not easy to do the reviews they did (especially sitting through the rain) and these were an incredible resource.

I do have some thoughts about specific shows.  The kids put SO much work into the shows and this area is uber-competitive.  I do think that there are a couple of band directors in the area that may have put their bands in very difficult spots with their choices of marching drills or music.

With regards to the bands that didn't make finals - 

I thought Joshua's show was memorably good.  Strong brass.  I was somewhat surprised they didn't make finals, only falling a couple of spots short.

I've been trying to put the Cleburne show ("Either...or")out of my mind, but I can't.  This felt like a show with A LOT of promise.  I loved the mix of Carmina Burana with Mars at the beginning and liked the concept of a show that juxtaposed "classic" marching band with new directions in the medium.  Unfortunately, all that good sentiment disappeared midway through the show when the EWI took over.  Just to be clear, I don't have an issue with having an EWI solo, especially given the theme of their show.  Still putting the EWI front and center on an elevated platform for 4 minutes of your show is...a choice.  If I was a member of the band who's grinded along for 5-6 years, it would have bothered me to see an EWI featured so prominently for such a large part of the show.  (If it was 45-60 seconds, this wouldn't have been a problem.)  This is a strong band that was not served by this stylistic choice.  They scored 15th and probably would have had more of a chance with musical choices that highlighted the ensemble more, rather than the EWI.  This is nothing against the soloist, but I am baffled that a Band Director made this choice.  I think it sabotaged their chances.

With regards to the Finalists - 

I loved Azle's show!  I was surprised they finished as low as 9th in prelims.  I knew they'd move up during finals, but unfortunately, it's VERY difficult to make a jump from 9th to 5th between prelims and finals.  

I'm pretty heartbroken for the folks at Grapevine.  THREE 6th place finishes in a row at Area is horror movie material.  The way this year specifically played out has to be especially disappointing for band members.  My guess is this morning Grapevine's directors woke up wishing they had chosen a more challenging marching drill for their band.  They were scoring consistently at pre-UIL competitions, but this was a high floor, low ceiling show.  Their ensemble performance felt strong (and well balanced) and their brass (according to the score sheet I saw) beat CH at prelims, but their visuals lagged well behind their competitors.  The change in UIL scoring this year probably benefited CH to Grapevine's detriment.  

I felt like Burleson Centennial and Aledo were a class above places 3-5.  I also feel like Centennial's show has a bit of a higher ceiling than Aledo's show going into State. 

The bari sax soloist for Midlothian deserves special props.  That guy has some chops and I loved the swagger.

 

The Real KingVon Newbie

The Real KingVon

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Posted
13 minutes ago, SousaPain said:

I make a point to never read these threads until after the competition is over since I think it's just a lot of fun to look back on how perceptions of the different bands have evolved over time.  I think that TheJokerOfficial and Flutelife22 deserve special shout-outs because their predictions were pretty much on the money.  I think a lot of the projections that didn't have CH making finals, at all, were wishcasting.  Thanks so much to Anthony V and PercDad for their commentary on the shows.  These were great references for remembering all the performances.  It's not easy to do the reviews they did (especially sitting through the rain) and these were an incredible resource.

I do have some thoughts about specific shows.  The kids put SO much work into the shows and this area is uber-competitive.  I do think that there are a couple of band directors in the area that may have put their bands in very difficult spots with their choices of marching drills or music.

With regards to the bands that didn't make finals - 

I thought Joshua's show was memorably good.  Strong brass.  I was somewhat surprised they didn't make finals, only falling a couple of spots short.

I've been trying to put the Cleburne show ("Either...or")out of my mind, but I can't.  This felt like a show with A LOT of promise.  I loved the mix of Carmina Burana with Mars at the beginning and liked the concept of a show that juxtaposed "classic" marching band with new directions in the medium.  Unfortunately, all that good sentiment disappeared midway through the show when the EWI took over.  Just to be clear, I don't have an issue with having an EWI solo, especially given the theme of their show.  Still putting the EWI front and center on an elevated platform for 4 minutes of your show is...a choice.  If I was a member of the band who's grinded along for 5-6 years, it would have bothered me to see an EWI featured so prominently for such a large part of the show.  (If it was 45-60 seconds, this wouldn't have been a problem.)  This is a strong band that was not served by this stylistic choice.  They scored 15th and probably would have had more of a chance with musical choices that highlighted the ensemble more, rather than the EWI.  This is nothing against the soloist, but I am baffled that a Band Director made this choice.  I think it sabotaged their chances.

With regards to the Finalists - 

I loved Azle's show!  I was surprised they finished as low as 9th in prelims.  I knew they'd move up during finals, but unfortunately, it's VERY difficult to make a jump from 9th to 5th between prelims and finals.  

I'm pretty heartbroken for the folks at Grapevine.  THREE 6th place finishes in a row at Area is horror movie material.  The way this year specifically played out has to be especially disappointing for band members.  My guess is this morning Grapevine's directors woke up wishing they had chosen a more challenging marching drill for their band.  They were scoring consistently at pre-UIL competitions, but this was a high floor, low ceiling show.  Their ensemble performance felt strong (and well balanced) and their brass (according to the score sheet I saw) beat CH at prelims, but their visuals lagged well behind their competitors.  The change in UIL scoring this year probably benefited CH to Grapevine's detriment.  

I felt like Burleson Centennial and Aledo were a class above places 3-5.  I also feel like Centennial's show has a bit of a higher ceiling than Aledo's show going into State. 

The bari sax soloist for Midlothian deserves special props.  That guy has some chops and I loved the swagger.

 

Joker Official jumpscare

GasBabyOfficial Apprentice

GasBabyOfficial

Posted
Posted

I would like to give my final opinions before everything comes to rest. I do want to congratulate everyone in area F, whether you make finals or not. This was a great season for everyone involved, and I hope everyone is able to see that as well. With that being said here is my opinions based off of my observation of finals performances.

1. Cen10 - brass was clean this year, I was impressed. Great run at finals, and overall great season.

2. Aledo - Had a great show, but it just wasn't what it has been in years prior. Great run and great last year as a 5a school.

3. Midlo - Awesome show theme, and great bari solo! Really could've pulled 1st, but everything is just so competitive.

4. Richland - Show was an interesting one, and the closer really helped them out. This could've gone both ways, but the run at finals definitely secured them this spot.

5. Grapevine - Very clean this year, but show seemed a little lackluster compared to years prior. Great performance and nicely polished.

6. Birdville - Great show this year, but Ensemble balance seemed slightly off in finals, not bad. Guard had mishaps as well, which probably was what tanked visual scores. I did see some choreo things twords the end, but also not bad. Good, but definitely could've been greater.

7. Collyville Heratige - Great show, but might have suffered from the same thing grapevine had. A polished show does go a long way, and symphonic metamorphosis was a nice touch

8. Azle - Been saying this a lot but another Incredibly clean show. Great style and dynamic range. 

9. Chisholm Trail -  intonation seemed a little off tonight and we seemed a little tired at the end, but overall great job 

10. Fossil Ridge - Great brass in good energy throughout the show, but the closer seemed a little rushed. Overall really good performance. 

 

These are all just my opinions, but congrats to all the finalists! I'm so excited to see everybody next year. To everybody going to State, Good luck and I hope you do great! 

 

AllenBandDad Rookie

AllenBandDad

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, CharterBusLover said:

https://gmsportsmedia.com/2025/10/2025-uil-snapshot-day-reports/ 

the cutoff for 6a is 2275 so Aledo 100% has to be moving out of 5a. Granbury was 11 enrollment numbers away from 6a so lucky break for them.

The cutoff changes with every realignment, but Aledo is well enough above the current cutoff that they are very likely moving up to 6A.  I'm hearing it's possible the cutoff number could actually get smaller this time.  It all depends on the size of the 230th - 250th largest schools, and where UIL decides to draw the cut line.

turflover16 Rookie

turflover16

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Posted
25 minutes ago, AllenBandDad said:

The cutoff changes with every realignment, but Aledo is well enough above the current cutoff that they are very likely moving up to 6A.  I'm hearing it's possible the cutoff number could actually get smaller this time.  It all depends on the size of the 230th - 250th largest schools, and where UIL decides to draw the cut line.

Its been confirmed by SportsMedia AND Aledo ISD that Aledo will moved up to 6a. Their new count for 2026-2028 is 2404. This is what they posted

“From Nolan Ruth - Aledo turns in 2404 during today's UIL Snapshot. Looks like Aledo will move up to 6A. For reference, the cutoff for 24-26 was 2275 and above. Official realignment for 26-28 will be in February”

fruitiestflute Contributor

fruitiestflute

Posted
Posted

Happy recover-from-area day! So proud to have been a finalist performer, and congrats to all the bands who advanced to finals and/or advanced to state! Well deserved accolades for both!!! I will say, i send a lot of my love to the Spirit of Saginaw band. I love you guys so much and it broke my heart to see you so devastated after prelims results. But im so proud of you guys nonetheless, see you friday for (my) senior night! The CT flute section loves you, SHS flutes, and we marched our best performance in your name ❤️

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