balumni2023

They changed the music at 3:47 in the leadup to the big hit and I think it sounds so much better. The previous passage they played was always kinda fuzzy and muddled and I'm glad they modified it.

For those who wanna see it: https://www.uiltexas.org/files/music/6A_Prelims__Finals.pdf Is this the first time they take 14 to finals? From what I remember it's usually 12.

This is probably the only prediction anyone can safely make and have it come true haha

Welcome back L.D. Bell to State! It's been 6 years!

Hebron has cemented themselves as the best, if not, one of the best high school marching bands in America. I have no other words. Also legitimately surprised Bell beat out Wakeland for 5th in prelims, but Wakeland overtook them in finals, which fell in line with my overall predictions. Bell's music still does need work, but their visual and GE was solid IMO, which is likely why they stayed in the top half. Still in shock over Carroll's miss, but they will be fine. They're still a very strong program, and they'll continue to improve as the season goes on. Congrats to every band tonight!

Carroll missing is definitely the biggest surprise to me. Did they have a bad run?

I currently have them placing 6th-7th at this contest, basing it off of past results and the rise of other bands like Coppell, Timber Creek, Waxahachie, etc. In my opinion they are still recovering from the pandemic (their size has been reduced a good amount these past two years) and staff changes (Van Mathews left in 2020 and was replaced by Suzanne Dell, and they now have Lindsey Vento as program coordinator instead of Cartwright), but I do think they still have a chance to make the top half. It will probably be a bit before we are seeing them back at 2019 level, though. Maybe 1-2 years more.

That performance time for Bell is slightly concerning but they've performed in the early morning before (BOA SA 2017), so they should still be fine. Really interested to see how they and Lake Travis do at this competition!

Not technically a show announcement, but L. D. Bell recently posted this teaser on their Instagram page, with more hints and info coming soon. Another thing I found interesting is that they have a new program coordinator, Lindsey Vento, after many years with Cartwright. Granted I don't know much about her (all of my years at Bell were with Cartwright) but I've been told she's designed for Blue Springs and Vista Ridge. Please correct me if I'm wrong lol I'm not gonna lie, I have no idea what this is. Maybe an insect wing?

I don't know much about Bell's chances on going to GNats next year but I do know they were supposed to go in 2020 with a Top Gun show (which evidently was given to William Mason this year). I would love to see them make the trip considering their last appearance in Indy was in 2013 but I'm not sure how they are financially since they got hit hard from the pandemic and lost a good number of students. Hopefully they make a comeback and go soon!

This area is full of talent, and I hope all bands, regardless of whether they advanced to state or not, realize they are all excellent.

Oops I missed Lake Highlands. I swear they only announced 9 bands which was weird. The biggest surprise to me is Haltom not making the cut.

Finalist bands in performance order: - Keller - Duncanville - Coppell - Timber Creek - Keller Central - Southlake Carroll - Bell - Waxahachie - Lake Ridge

Not sure about anyone else, but this contest is really hard to predict, mostly because I haven't seen most of the bands and that historically this competition has been fierce. So here's my two cents so far: - Almost 99.99% certain Flower Mound, Hebron, and Marcus remain in the top three. With captions, I could see either FloMo or Hebron sweeping, or a mix of the two. - Keller and Haltom fighting for 4th and 5th, with Bell slipping down to 6th, maybe 7th. Bell's size has reduced to around 90-100 brass and woodwind on the field (they usually have 120) and there aren't that many experienced marchers so they aren't at their 2019 level, and probably won't be until at least next year. - Coppell, Waxahachie, Timber Creek, and Wakeland place anywhere between 7th-10th. - I literally can't predict the last two finalist spots because there's a good number of bands that could snag them. Maybe we'll see some newcomers? Hoping to see a few of the bands at the HEB Marching Contest so I can get better predictions, but weather might be an issue. Fingers crossed.

If that many bands will be competing, I personally think they shouldn't have a 10 band finals. It probably would be awkward and disappointing for the two bands that didn't make it. If it was 20 or more bands competing I would say yes, they should. But it doesn't seem like they have that many.

Don't have any insider info but if all of these rumored bands attend that would be awesome. Has Timber Creek attended this marching contest before? I don't think they have.

I'm interested to see how L.D. Bell is going to fare in 2021, with their success in the 2019 season as well as the confirmation of their new head band director, Suzanne Dell, as of 2021-2022 school year. She was an assistant director for Bell from 2014 up until now and has worked with the Blue Devils since 2016. She is one of the younger members of the Bell staff (I believe Chris Harmon and Ben Maughmer are older), and I think she can continue to bring success for the band program. There is speculation that Bell might attend Grand Nationals this year, but nothing has been confirmed.