balumni2023

Looking at the attendance list, these are my predictions of finalists, which will likely change as we get closer. Alphabetically listed: Cedar Park Cedar Ridge Coppell Flower Mound Hebron Leander Marcus Pearland Ronald Reagan Rouse The Woodlands Vandegrift Vista Ridge Waxahachie Like people have said before, this contest has so many talented bands performing, so some are definitely going to get left out. That does not make them any less talented. As fans of these competitions, it’s great to be excited by predictions and scores and we can agree there are bands that generally stand out above the rest, but it’s important to remember that all of these bands deserve our praise and applause.

Hebron and Marcus are on a 4 year rotation schedule, so you won't see Hebron until 2027 (they just went this year) and Marcus until 2025 (last time in 2021).

Top half is probably correct, bottom half I have no idea really haha

It's so unreal how much they've improved in just one year.

The show is focused on the art of pointillism, combining Georges Seurat's painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and Stephen Sondheim's musical, Sunday in the Park with George.

I think it's safe to say this is a comeback year... I'm so so happy for them!

Holy moly. Bell TOP HALF????

Great run from them. Definitely will be a strong contender for one of the last few spots. Either way, I'm really proud of how well they did this year!

They are not disqualified

This is gonna be a repeat of 2011...

I can't even imagine how heartbreaking it must be for those students to give a solid performance and find out they got disqualified for being a few seconds over. UIL needs to definitely be more lenient!

I was watching Bell through NFHS, and despite the stream being a little lacking, I thought they had a really great run and I'm so proud of them as an alumni. Very likely in the finalist bubble.

Congratulations to all the Area B finalist bands and the top 7 moving on to State! I think every band should be proud of the amount of hard work and talent that they put on the field. The only lock I have for State finals is Coppell, but any of the top 7 could make it depending on how strong their runs are. It’s just going to be super competitive, but with Cedar Ridge not advancing to State, that frees up a spot.

I’m a Bell alumni. If you want to hear my take, Coppell has consistently improved in recent years to become one of the best bands in the state. Not to say that Bell isn’t, they’re a legendary program, but they aren’t currently at the level that Coppell is, which is why I believe that they are still one of the frontrunners to be the area champion. Am I upset that Bell isn’t the best? No. Why would I be? Even if Bell isn’t the best marching band in the state, which is a subjective title by the way, they are definitely back on track to the level of success they experienced in 2019. And I’m more than pleased with that.

I personally don't see Keller that low; in my eyes, they're still very likely to be in the top 3-4. I do agree with Wakeland being the slight favorite to win here. L.D. Bell and Timber Creek switched placements at BOA Bedford (7th and 8th place), so I have a feeling they'll be neck and neck at this competition and for the rest of the season. Bell has a relatively short show this year and might have more time to clean stuff in the next few weeks. Both are in my list of finalist bubble bands for San Antonio, but I see TC having better chances of making it in. I could be dead wrong though.