MikeKyu

Hot take here: I can see Vandegrift not winning music tonight. They brought the hardest book and it is still a work in cleaning. I think Vista Ridge may steal music tonight.

And that's my issue with BOA scoring. Separate or combine but don't separate them combine the scores for 60% of the score

Any guesses on the winning score? I am going to guess 86.2 (yep, it's high for this time of year but have you watched what they are cookin' this year?) Visual and GE will be split. Visual: Cedar Park or Cedar Ridge (I'm torn) GE: Vandegrift Music is up for grabs between: Vandy, Cedar Park, Vista, and Rouse 1. Vandegrift 2. Cedar Park 3. Rouse 4. Cedar Ridge 5. Vista Ridge 6. Westlake 7. Leander 8. Round Rock 9. Klein Cain 10. Westwood 11. Lake Travis 12. Hutto

If you watch this page you will see the full recap pdf appear some time tonight: https://marching.musicforall.org/result/round-rock-tx-2024/

Gatesville goes last or first.

Happy that my eyes and ears still haven't deceived me. Prelims went as I expected with placements that seem about right for this morning's performances. This is going to be a wild top 5 shootout tonight. If you have a hat bring some string because you are going to need something to hold them on.

It will take some time for scores to come out. Probably sometime during finals

5A Area H is never to be discussed

They did the same thing last year at the beginning of the year then moved off of yard lines as the season progressed.

Here was Vandy's performance from tonight. This show is going to be fun to watch develop. Ripping runs from brass and woodwinds. There's some great articulation across the field. I mention "too much bass" in one part of this video and it doesn't translate in the video. But there is a synth bass that is way too loud at the point just before that so that instead of an addition to the show it became the feature of the show. Once they get that under control it's going to be a super effective part of the show. Great performance tonight Vandy. It did feel good to leave a CP --Vandy game where CP wasn't just demolished during the show on either side of the main event.

This year is a little different. This is the best I have seen them in week 2 since I started going to all of their performance in 2015. The marching form is advanced beyond anything I've ever seen from CP this early (as a whole). The guard is gigantic (finally) for Cedar Park! They were at a little disadvantage tonight as their front ensemble truck did not make the game. The front ensemble features were mostly silent for the show tonight. Luckily Vandy allowed the front ensemble to use their set. Mighty sporting of Vandegrift. LISD is truly One Team. I hate how this phone compresses the audio. They were much more dynamic than this video's recording but, it's what I had on me. And this video should clear up as it finishes processing

Oh my.... If Cedar Park looks this good already ..look out Loretta! They are gonna turn heads this year.

I am planning on being at the Cedar Park vs Vandegrift show...maybe a football game will break out too.

Vandy's articulation already is sounding great. Going to be fun to watch this show develop

Livingin the Leander ISD, I am fortunate. I get to see Cedar Park, Vandegrift, Leander, Vista Ridge, and Rouse multiple times a year. I choose which game to go see based on the bands 😅

Adding to this but slightly different....We just had our summer interns come in. I was randomly assigned a drum major from one of the big local HS bands. Yes, it was random as I just started at the company and then was prodoted to Director shortly after starting. I haven't shared my band geekdom with anyone at the company yet. This kid is as smart as a whip, nice as could be, eager and humble. It's going to be a fun summer getting to know this student and helping them learn a bit about entrepreneurship and the business of business.

Thanks for the introductions to the Skyliners!

What a gesture and what a great story. Good job kid. https://news.google.com/articles/CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFsLmNvbS9lZHVjYXRpb25sYWIvMjAyNC8wMS9hbGFiYW1hLXN0dWRlbnQtZ2l2ZXMtYmFjay10by1oaWdoLXNjaG9vbC1iYW5kLXRocm91Z2gtbWFrZS1hLXdpc2guaHRtbNIBfmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFsLmNvbS9lZHVjYXRpb25sYWIvMjAyNC8wMS9hbGFiYW1hLXN0dWRlbnQtZ2l2ZXMtYmFjay10by1oaWdoLXNjaG9vbC1iYW5kLXRocm91Z2gtbWFrZS1hLXdpc2guaHRtbD9vdXRwdXRUeXBlPWFtcA?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

Don't allow it to be depressing. Make it motivating. A long, long, long time ago when I was in high school I chose to be the best in my region. My school at the time was not know to produce musicians but as a small 2A school we were on the upswing. Lots of practice and a few years later I chose to compete in my state's open class and I was the top rated trumpeter in the state, class not considered. This allowed me to have full ride scholarship opportunities at my in-state school of choice, full scholarship offers from many school around the North East US, and I landed a conducting apprenticeship in high school with one of the top conductors the US has ever produced. Don't worry about class of your band......focus on your talent, be tenacious, be fearless, be meticulous, and go get it.

Metallica released a challenge to college and high school bands earlier this year. They weren't let down. Auburn University, Dobbyns Bennett were the biggest winners with their massive shows. Check it out if you weren't aware. Drive eyes to something new and different in the space which will encourage sponsors to put on more contests like this. The more eyes they get, the more enticing it is to repeat. Through this link you can watch all of the sumbissions or just watch the winners. https://www.metallicamarchingband.com/

The Onmi is about 2 blocks away. The staff there is fantastic. It's very clean and It's a little more pricey but after a day seated in stadium seats it's completely worth it for me.

Looks like I am going to be at Grand Nationals 2024. Cedar Park and Leander are attending means this old man spends time in Indy.

Thanks! I was given a lot of grief over this post but I deeply believed it. Watching shows progress over the course of a season and guessing how they will progress is a hobby of mine. Seeing the CP show the first weekend I knew that they were going to peak right at the end. Watching the Rouse show I felt like they peaked and rode that peak much earlier in the season. Yes, both shows were incredible. I loved watching them progress over the season. Requiem is a gorgeous show, massive GE moments, well performed, and beautifully presented. I would rate Requiem in the top 5 shows in 5A over the last 5 years. BOA wise it is probably the best BOA show by a 5A band. But when it comes to UIL there are elements that I saw in Cedar Park's show from the first contest I felt that they had the higher absolute top end score due to the difficulty and demand of their show. Wakeland was another beautiful show but technically far behind Rouse and Cedar Park. Leander's show was incredible. From 2014-2019 Leander had my favorite high brass section in the state. It is a shame that the sick hit Leander right before finals. Yes, we are fortunate to see not only so close of a contest but highly varying and creative shows here in Texas.

I just finished rewatching all of the finals. I am not criticizing any students or performers in my below post. I am not criticizing any school, any district, or any participant on the field tonight. Avon was flawless. I can see why they won. Carmel: They are solid. This is what they do year after year. A show I'm not really affected by performed flawlessly. They run a medium hard book, a hard marching book, a great guard. It's all good but design-wise, not my flagon of bourbon. Hebron: It hurts, but they were rightly placed. If you put Avon's visuals next to Hebron's you can see the work Texas as a whole needs to do. Individually, and ensemble-wise just an incredible sound. They are probably the king of musical virtuosity in the BOA environment at this point. TWHS: Visually stunning immaculate guard work as usual but let down by the music's impact on GE. I have felt this all year hoping for an end of season renaissance.

Avon, what a season! I have been obsessed with Pictures at an Exhibition since 1986. I have seen it played live in 4 different countries, 12 venues, and now in a Grand Nationals Championship performance. Well earned Avon. What a show!!