Tenzineo

Bowie didn't go to BOASA last time they had State and Nationals on the same year, so they probably don't want the kids missing so much classtime (All the competitions are in the time span of like, two weeks?). Also, having to replace all of their directors this summer probably made it extremely difficult to plan everything, so they just cut some stuff out.

I was able to make the trip over to finals and was insanely impressed by what I saw and heard. Here are a few thoughts I had on some of the finalists: Flower Mound- Simply unreal. I cannot believe how good these kids are this early in the season, their brass sounds like a drum corps and their soloists are superb. LISD has some of the strongest musicians in the state, and the kids really gave a clinic during finals. Barring some tremendous growth from some other bands, I feel as if Flower Mound has San Antonio already in it's pocket. My only complaint is the show had to end. Marcus- You can tell it's a state year when Marcus marches and plays like this. My jaw dropped at how still those kids could be during the opening hits, their playing and marching was crystal clear and I honestly see them winning another State title in a little less than a month from now. Every year Marcus seems to have the most beautiful props, how do they make those things? Hebron- I can't wait to see where Hebron is by the end of the season. The colors of blue are so beautiful and give off and amazing visual sense of the show. Their music book is unreal and the execution of it is on point. I still cannot believe that these are highschoolers playing like this. L.D. Bell- Really brought me back to the traditional Bell from a few years ago. The avoidance of props doesn't hurt this show at all as the students perform super well with the amazing visual and music books they have been given. James Bowie- Really, really enjoyed the show design for this band, also this may be the first time I've really enjoyed Bowie's props. There's a lot more to add to this show, and I expect them to have a late season surge as they wrap up their show and head to Grand Nats. Bowie's color guard are simply on another level and tell the story of their show really well, and the soloists are fantastic. The top five at this competition could easily all be in the top 7 at San Antonio (Bowie isn't going unfortunately), and the competition was quite fierce with the tinniest margins between Bowie and Bell, and Hebron and Marcus. Flower Mound have probably the best show this early on in the season that I have ever seen, and I hope to see them at Grand Nationals again soon. As for Bowie and Heborn, I feel as though they have a lot to add on and to clean in their shows and I can't wait to see what they have to offer due November.

Wow, next year seems to be stacked with a lot of non-regulars from Texas. It'll be really exciting to see what they bring to Grand Nats next season, along with State (for 6A). I think it's pretty awesome that almost all of these bands are from the old Area D, an area often said to be one of, if not the most stacked region in the country. This is of course assuming all of these bands DO go. Like last year, we can't really expect to see everyone who's going until the end of summer, but as of now it looks insane.

I'm pretty sure Dripping Springs is doing the same thing as Leander as of now. I feel truly sorry for these three bands that have had to drop out, and my utmost respect goes to their programs for working around these difficult circumstances. It's situations like this that really show the class in some of these ASTOUNDING programs, which all were potential finalists, and in Leander's case a potential medalist. I'm really feeling for the Anderson kids out there, as I believe this was their last major competition/performance they were attending. As for Leander and Dripping Springs, I hope they come out of this with strong State performances. Overall I don't think MFA is to blame for this happening, I'm sure they have tried to do all that they possibly could to deal with these unprecedented circumstances. It seems like no matter what they do, unless another, closer band performs earlier/drops out, a few of the Austin bands would've been left out. It's just too unsafe for the school districts to allow travel at an early time, and with the I-35 closed down, I can imagine it's heck getting there. Overall, I hope MFA can use this year to learn, and be ready the next time a storm like this comes.

I'm not going to try and make placement predictions just yet. I may need a week or two of thinking about it to get a list I'm happy with, but here is a few ideas I have of what may happen. Top 10 (no order) Hebron Flower Mound Reagan CTJ Leander Cedar Park James Bowie Marcus TWHS Round Rock I'm pretty confident in these 10 being the best right now. However there are definitely bands that can rise up the ranks. If I had to choose a top 5, it would probably be: (No order) Reagan James Bowie Hebron CTJ Flower Mound Reagan - I've only been to BOA Austin, but winning Conroe and TMC is no joke. From what I've seen/heard Reagan's coming back HUGE, right now they're probably my favorite to win this competition. Bowie - After seeing them in Austin I knew they weren't up to their usual level of performance, however I saw a MUCH harder book than they've attempted before, and a huge amount of potential GE. (Which is probably why they won GE, despite coming in 4th overall). After their apparent progress they made between BOA Austin and TMC, I think they can definitely pull together an amazing show for San Antonio, and maybe win the whole thing. Hebron - This may seem optimistic, but I think Hebron can win San Antonio AND Grand Nats this year, however due to them having a longer season they may not quite peak at San Antonio, regardless, I think they are a favorite to medal at this competition. I'm super excited to see what they do these next coming weeks, and I hope they will take the Eagle home to Texas this year. CTJ - It's hard to not put CTJ in the top 5 after last year's performance. I don't think being behind Reagan at Conroe really shows much of a downside for them, as Reagan are simply amazing this year. CTJ always puts a insane book on the field, and performs it super well. I can't wait to see this year's show in the dome. Flower Mound - I couldn't leave FloMo out after Arlington. As long as they haven't peaked early I definitely see them coming strong into this competition. Their GE is ridiculous and that will do them very well in BOA. Of course I don't think this top 5 is that secure at all. Marcus/The Woodlands/Leander/Round Rock/Cedar Park are not necessarily "worse" than the other bands I posted about, I just couldn't make solid decisions based on what I've seen so far.

I really hope it becomes a thing for bands to do this. CTJ doing it for the Woodlands last year, and then Bowie doing it for Leander really shows a lot of class in these organizations. It must be super exciting for the performers to see so many fellow bands supporting them after their win.

There's a video of Bowie at one of their football games on Youtube, but it's taken from in front of the pit and seems to mainly pick up the sounds at the front of the field. However it still gives you a good feel of their opener, which is very impressive.

I definitely expect Reagan to be in the top 3 after Conroe, they were in my top 5 before, but now I could see them beating out LISD bands and maybe Bowie. As for Bowie, despite their placement at Austin, I still think they'll do well. The difficulty of their show is much higher than it has been in years previous, and their musical package is killer. I'm most interested to see how the battle of the LISD bands plays out over the season. My top 5 is still Reagan, Bowie, Leander, Cedar Park, and Vandergrift. As for the order, I have no darn idea.

Many of the top bands are competing at both BOA Austin and TMC, with the only big difference being Ronald Reagan so I expect the results to be similar. I'll wait until after BOA to make my final predictions, but I'm sure the top 6 will be In random order: James Bowie Cedar Park Vandergrift Leander Vista Ridge Ronald Reagan

I'm gonna be safe and predict: 1. Bowie 2. Leander 3. Round Rock 4. Cedar Park 5. Vandergrift 6.Cedar Ridge 7.Vista Ridge 8. Westlake 9. Dripping Springs 10. Hendrickson Visual-Bowie Music-Bowie/Leander/Cedar Park/Round Rock GE-Bowie/Leander I'm fairly certain on my top three, I'm just not sure if Leander or RR will be better right now. I just put Leander in front based off of last year's success, and because I've seen their show this year and they sound fantastic. However unless Bowie is having an off year I think they should be able to win. I heard they have a hard opener this year, so they might not be as clean as they usually are. As for the rest of my picks, I think their placements could easily be switched around, and substituted for bands who I placed outside of finals.

Bowie's percussion director/arranger left this year as well. We could see some real shake-ups in the standings if schools don't adapts well, however I'm really excited to see how new staff will help these band programs.

What are your guy's early predictions for this season? I'm really excited for this season due to the new McAllen regional, and the stacked San Antonio regional. Here are my predictions for some of this years regionals. AUSTIN: 1. James Bowie They will most likely win it, they have for the past two years pretty definitively. I wouldn't be surprised if Leander or Round Rock snagged a caption. 2. Round Rock I put Round Rock above Leander because it's hard to tell if last year was just a special year for Leander. Round Rock has been getting better and better these past few years, and now that they're splitting into a varsity and non varsity band, they are going to have a new level or refinement. 3. Leander After coming off a VERY strong season last year I expect them to do well. I don't know if they'll change their approach this year due to 5A state, which could affect how well they score, but nevertheless I think they'll sound as great as always. These are definitely my top 3. I think Round Rock and Leander could potentially upset the competition and win it in finals. But Bowie seems to be a step above the rest this early in the season. As for the rest of the bands I would expect Reagan, Cedar Park, Vandergrift, and Coppell to do well. It is hard to tell how Cedar Ridge will do, as their head band director has left, but usually I would expect them in the top half of finals. I think the last few spots will be a battle between Vista Ridge, Winston Churchill, Dripping Springs, Westlake, Hendrickson, and Westwood. I think Anderson, Pflugerville, Mcallum, and Stephen F. Austin are also contenders, but most likely will be kicked out due to the bands above. Overall I love this regional due to the depth of talent in the bands that go there. I feel that if maybe a couple more "powerhouse" bands went, such as CTJ, this regional could be considered a "mini BOA San Antonio". *Top Three* 1. James Bowie 2. Round Rock 3. Leander *Locks* Cedar Park Coppell Ronald Reagan Vandergrift *Upper Bubble* Cedar Ridge Dripping Springs Vista Ridge *Lower Bubble* Hendrickson Westlake Winston Churchill Westwood *Other Contenders* Anderson Pflugerville Mcallum Stephen F. Austin Captions: Music - Highly contested, but most likely James Bowie Visual - James Bowie General Effect - James Bowie MCALLEN: Unfortunately I know little about many of the bands going to make accurate predictions for this regional. However I think it is extremely likely that Claudia Taylor Johnson will sweep the competition. As for other bands, I have heard Harlingen, Edinburgh North, and Sandra Day O'Connor are good, so I see them making finals. Predictions 1. Claudia Taylor Johnson Captions: Music - Claudia Taylor Johnson Visual - Claudia Taylor Johnson General Effect - Claudia Taylor Johnson CONROE: Conroe was very exciting to watch last year as CTJ and The Woodlands battled it out for first. I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen again this year, so I'm looking forward to it. I'll give CTJ the edge due to their great season last year, I also expect The Woodlands to be focusing more on Grand Nats that the early regionals, so they probably won't be as clean as they have been other years. I expect Reagan to make first, even thought they might not be as strong as they were a decade ago, they've still consistently proven that they have what it takes to be a Texas powerhouse. I expect Keller to make finals, they will be strong this year as they are attending Grand Nats, and just came off of 6A State Finals last year. Along with them I see Cedar Ridge, Winston Churchill, and The Woodlands of College Park making finals, with Cypress Falls, Spring, Westwood, Brazoswood, and Stephen F. Austin competing for the rest of the spots. *Top Three* 1. Claudia Taylor Johnson 2. The Woodlands 3. Ronald Reagan *Locks* Cedar Ridge Cypress Falls Stephen F. Austin The Woodlands of College Park Winston Churchill *Bubble* Brazoswood Spring Westwood ARLINGTON This regional is so stacked it's ridiculous. There are so many Grand National caliber bands here, it's going to be a slaughter to see who gets in or not. I still expect the top two to be Hebron and Marcus. I really can't fully get behind one of them to be first, I'll say Marcus right now, in case Hebron will be holding back a bit for Grand Nats/ BOASA. As for third I can't say, with Round Rock, L.D. Bell, Flower Mound, and Coppell competing, it's going to be really close. L.V. Berkner, Jenks, Keller, Keller Central, and Richland are also great bands that are competing for finalist spots. With great smaller bands such as Wakeland, and Aledo this is a regional to watch. *Top Two* 1. Marcus 2. Hebron *Locks* Coppell Flower Mound L.D. Bell Round Rock *Upper Bubble* Jenks Keller L.V. Berkner *Lower Bubble* Keller Central Richland Wakeland SAN ANTONIO I'm not even going to try and properly predict the results of this Super-Regional yet. After the regionals I will have a better idea of what will probably happen (not that it will help that much). I'm really excited to see who will come out on top this year. Ever since the Marcus/Bell dominance was broken, there has been new victors every year, and I hope that repeats this year with a new band like Hebron, Leander, or Bowie winning it. *Locks* The Woodlands Claudia Taylor Johnson James Bowie Hebron Marcus Ronald Reagan *Upper Bubble* Leander* Round Rock Flower Mound Cedar Park Cedar Ridge Vandergrift Coppell Owasso *Lower Bubble* Hendrickson Westlake Keller Keller Central Vista Ridge Plano East Senior

Does anyone know of a place online that I could find previous performances from the Westlake Marching Festival? I was looking for Round Rock and Bowie's performances in 2013 in particular. I heard it started raining during their performances and they played AMAZING.

Bowie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Gz5wyRtpo Coppell I also believe that a youtube user name "rocketfan86" has all the prelims performances online. I just prefer finals runs because a lot more bands bring on the heat.