Houston213

I absolutely love this area and I can talk for hours about this area alone. Coming out of 2024 and going into the 2025 season there is a lot to say and a lot of unanswered questions we will not know until the next season starts. Bridgeland: I'm going to flat out say that they are the best band in this area. I don't think that can be challenged and beat at this point. They are the most consistent band that get the results of a great band in the state. They've been consistent state qualifiers since 2020, won the area three times now, two time state finalists, and they are a super regional and grand national finalists. I might even say they are the third best band in Houston behind TWHS and Pearland without a doubt. I think in order for them to move higher as finalists is to get harder drill and book similar to those of Coppell, Pearland, or Marcus. But I think they have what they need to be consistent finalists in these big contests for a long time. Cypress Woods: Theyre a good band that I think doesn't always get what they deserve. 29th at state this year was rough and I expected them to be at least in the teens but there was something that the majority of the judges saw that made them believe they deserved that placement. I believe their book is more complex and difficult than BL's however their drill doesn't compare. Cypress Woods has progressively gotten dangerously close to BOA SA finals but I feel like they need something extraordinary to push them into a finalist position. I honestly don't see them making state finals in a long time but they are very close to BOA SA finals. Cy- Fair: The main thought that comes mind when I think of Cy-Fair was "what happened"? They just came out of a great season in 2023 being the BOA Conroe Champion and state finalist. However, their 2024 show wasn't scored very high in comparison. I feel like their drill and book was limited despite obviously having great brass and woodwind players. they have an amazing balance in the brass that is super powerful but their book this year didn't help compliment that. I don't know what 2025 is going to look like for this band. Cy-Fair could easily be reintroduced to state finals or not. They have the players to be state finalists, but I think it comes down to the drill and book. Seven Lakes: Wow. talk about come back season. This band didn't do extraordinary with scoring and placements at the beginning of the season ( 9th at Webster, 6th at Waco, 4th at Area) but managed to place 14th at BOA SA and State earning them finalist spots at both major contests. Their sound was phenomenal and so impactful. But the question becomes: will they stay in this position in 2025 or will they lose their finalist spot? At the beginning of the season, everyone thought Jordan would steal that 4th area spot but boy was that proven wrong this season. I believe if SL can improve the difficulty in their drill, then they can potentially keep their finalist spots. Jordan: This band had a lot of hype at the beginning of the season and as they should. This young band has been growing very consistently and progressively similar to Bridgeland's growth. Jordan managed to beat Seven Lakes at the Katy Invitational. I think this band has a very high chance at making state in 2025 if 5 spots are open because I don't think the top 4 are moving down anytime soon. I was a bit disappointed with their area placement this year as I thought they would secure the 5th spot but without finals, I don't think the placements were super accurate in my opinion. Cinco Ranch: This is their second time being one spot shy of being an state qualifier (2021 when they got 5th). Cinco Ranch has great shows and a powerful brass but I think they need more cleaning in order to snatch a state spot and of course harder drill that I am sure they can execute. I think their brass needs to be better balanced and blend more with each other to compare with the Area I top 4. James E Taylor: Another bubble band for state that I could see taking the 5th spot as they have done it before in 2022 I believe. This band sounds pretty good by the time area comes along it is just a matter of how they execute their drill and book and how difficult it is to compare with the big 4 of the area. Tompkins: Another band that has made state and last year they managed to beat Cypress Woods and Seven Lakes at area finals. They also made state in 2020. It seems like this band isn't very consistent with placements as they placed 8, I believe, right after placing 3rd the previous year. It depends on their drill and book once again. I believe all these bubble bands have the talent to make state if there is a 5th spot but it comes down to how hard their production is and how well they can execute it. Once again, it is too soon to tell what 2025 will look like but I think it's safe to say BL, CW, CF, and SL are guarantee state qualifiers and the 5th spot is up for grabs if the required amount of bands qualify for area and allows for a 5th spot to open which is definitely possible.

Wow what an exciting state competition. After the finals performances and results here are some stats and information I found interesting as a band nerd. - The finalist group was made up of 10 different ISD's and 7 Area champions (B, D, E, F, H, I, and J) - this is now Hebron's second time being crowned 6A state champion (2021 & 2024) and ties Vandegrift with he most wins in 6A (2022 & 2023). - Hebron's scoring was pretty consistent in finals besides the 9th place ranking from the perc judge. - Vandergrift ties in numbers with Hebron and makes 2nd place after getting 5th at BOA SA - Flower Mound places third one day after winning BOA SA. Could this be because their show was more BOA-oriented or did Hebron and Vandegrift just have a better run? - 6th place Marcus took 1st place in percussion - Coppell pushes Pearland out of top half in finals. - Cedar Ridge returns to finals after not making state the previous year - Seven Lakes makes their first appearance in 6A state finals after also making BOA SA finals for the 1st time - Bridgeland proves they plan to stay in state finals for years to come with their second state finals appearance at only 8 years of existence. - After not making BOA SA finals, Keller manages to secure a state finalist spot in 12th place - The finalists this year are all the same except for the addition of Cedar Ridge and Seven Lakes who replaced Waxahachie and Cy-Fair from last year.

slight correction but Bridgeland won area I this year due to some UIL rule on getting two 1s in music and one 1 in visual. Apparently that automatically makes you the winner by default. But if it wasn't for that rule, woods would have remained area champion. This info came out a day or two after the original area results.

Yes, this is Seven Lakes first 6A finals appearance (not counting 2020 since all 20 bands were considered finalists according to the UIL archives but only top 10 got awards) but this is the first time they made normal state finals. They did place 14th in 2021 but back then only 12 made finals.

I know you said you didn't want to talk ill of another program, but that is kind of what you did. I didn't think it was necessary to include some of the information in your post if you wanted to "defend your predictions on where Bridgeland would place" you could've defended your reasoning with just "they looked rough in a video" but it was wrong to bring up rumors about their directors and it definitely seems like a personal attack on bridgeland especially when you talk highly of your own band while talking badly of theirs.

I think Vandegrift also did BOA San Antonio right before Nats. They got 2nd to Reagan

There are 32 bands in the regions and if all of them make area (unlikely) then there are 6 state spots up for grabs. Now, it'll probably be 5 state spots due to previous trends in this area (possibly 4). I feel like Bridgeland, Cy-Fair, Cypress Woods, and Seven Lakes are locks for state because they seem to be the most consistent in the area. Seven Lakes scared me last year with their 5th place ranking but I don't think that means they won't get a state spot this year. Tompkins is a very unpredictable band. They did well in 2020 then kind of fell off and then did really well in 2023. Here are previous state qualifiers from this area for reference: 2018: 1st-Katy 2nd-Jersey Village 3rd- Seven Lakes 4th-Cy-Fair 5th-JE Taylor (Cypress Falls 1 off) 2020: 1st- Seven Lakes 2nd- Bridgeland 3rd- Cypress Woods 4th- Tompkins (Cy-Fair 1 off) 2021: 1st- Bridgeland 2nd-Cypress Woods 3rd- Seven Lakes 4th- Jersey Village (Cinco Ranch 1 off) 2022: 1st- Cy-Fair 2nd-Seven Lakes 3rd- Bridgeland 4th- Cypress Woods 5th- JE Taylor (Katy 1 off) 2023: 1st- Bridgeland 2nd- Cy-Fair 3rd- Tompkins 4th- Cypress Woods 5th- Seven Lakes (Jordan 1 off)

You know, if you watch Bridgeland shows from previous years you'll notice that it's like watching a different band each time. They are consistently getting better at a rather fast pace. They are only 7-8 years old and are passing up these bands that have been around since the '90s and early 2000s. Bridgeland has already made a name for itself when they made BOASA finals last year and we haven't seen a BOA SA finalist in this area since Cy-Falls in 2016 where they placed 14th. Fun fact Cy-Falls made BOASA finals under the director of Shawn McAnear who left the following year to start Bridgeland and returns to finals 7 years later with a newly established band. Bridgeland placed 8th. Cy-Fair is also improving. Now, that school is probably as old as dirt but they started to make some commotion in 2022 when they came out of nowhere and are now a state finalist along with Bridgeland. Before that year, they hadn't advanced to state since 2018. This band seems to do very well in early-season contests and even won a regional last year which is a first in a long time for any band in this area. I don't know if there was any shift in direction, or change of staff, designers, or composers between 2021 and 2022 but whatever it was is definitely visible and doing them well. Lastly, I want to talk about Jordan. They are a bit younger than Bridgeland but they seem to be getting a lot of attention from the audience this year as I've heard many positive things about them. in 2022 (I believe their second year in existence) they were a finalist at a BOA regional which is huge for such a young band. As for surprises. I think Jordan has a good chance at making State, Cy-Fair and Bridgeland could return to State Finals. Bridgeland has a good chance at seeing GN finals and Cy-Fair could maybe sneak their way into BOA SA finals (it's a tough contest this year). Note: Bridgeland, Cypress Woods, and Seven Lakes have consistently made state since 2020.

I actually really like this line-up of bands (hopefully finals aren't canceled again). I'm curious to see how Cedar Ridge does this year and to see if our last year champion, Dripping Springs, remains champion with the addition of Timber Creek and Westlake who had very solid programs last year. If Dripping Springs can keep the momentum they had last year, they could very much win this contest again. However, it's too soon to tell.

Last year Rock Hill killed it. I mean coming in 6th along with beating Keller and Waxahachie. I'm curious to see how they will place this year. And I just love the Mckinney Boyd band. I saw them at State in 2022 and they might be a smaller group but man that brass section can produce sound. With a few out-of-state bands in attendance (and good ones too!) this will be a contest worth watching. I can't wait.

I think it really depends on who is judging. Marching band is a very subjective activity in which different judges prioritize different things while judging. But I will say, choreo does add a WOW factor and makes a show more interesting.

I think it would be very difficult for Cypress Woods to beat any of the legacies that Packwick mentioned in his post above. This line up is super packed with great bands and not all of them will appear in finals. Cypress Woods might have placed 3 out of finals last year but we also must consider the absence of Keller, Coppell, Hebron, and Flower Mound who didn't attend last year but will this year. It would be lovely to see Cypress Woods join Bridgeland as a BOASA finalist, but this year will be tough to do so.

I think it's safe to say that Carmel, Avon, Tarpon Springs, William Mason, Broken Arrow, and Dobyns Bennett are locks for finals. That's half taken right there. As for Texas, all eyes are gonna be on Bridgeland, Cedar Park, and Leander for finals. As a matter of fact, if you took their BOA SA scores last year and compared them to the scores of the GN finalists, all three would have made a GN finalist spot and knocked out Keller, Brownsburg, and Fishers. (This info is useless for this year's competition but is interesting to know). The next three is tricky because there are so many bubble bands and previous GN finalists in this mix. We are looking at Prosper, Brownsburg, Fishers, Union, Homestead, Castle, Mustang, American Fork and O'Fallon Township. Just based on previous rankings it would be safe to say the next 3 could possibly be Prosper, Brownsburg, and Fishers with Castle being right there behind them. So the Finalists would look something like this: (listed somewhat alphabetically) 1-6: Avon, Broken Arrow, Carmel, Dobyns Bennett, Tarpon Springs, and William Mason 7-9: Bridgeland, Cedar Park, and Leander 10-12: Brownsburg, Fishers, and Prosper ---- 13: Castle All we can do right now is look at is previous placements which is a very inaccurate way to approach things since many of these bands are changing and we are starting to see once-mediocre bands become top dogs and legendary bands getting passed up by others. We will start to get a better idea as the season begins.

is it possible to share the link with more people. I would like to have access if possible

yes super excited for them I can definetly envision them in maybe 1st this year, Bridgeland has been the only area I band to beaten them this season and that was in Conroe Prelims. I hope we get 5 bands to state this year. This Area Contest will be like no other. Next contest for Area I fans is Lone Star preview where we can see Bridgeland and Woods go at it.

This is a massive W for Cy fair, being 2nd at Conroe behind the woodlands, and now 4th behind reagan. those kids must be flabbergasted rn

SFA making 6th. what a jump!! Good for them

Bands I've seen so far: The Woodlands show is called "Mad Mod Go" spy theme show I've heard? - music is always good from taht school, guard is killing it on the field, marching a bit easier and more in blocks but they will probably do very well in this contest. Klein Oak show is called "Stir the Pot" - Big sounds coming from this band and killer trombone solo which I am obsessed with. Probably in the top 5 or even 3 this year at this contest. Oak Ridge show is called "Up Up and away" only heard their opener and are off to a good start from that stand point. clean and big sounds JET - pretty decent. I agree lots of potential Jordan - Improving, I love watching the new bands get better each year Cy Fair show is called "Vanish" - very interesting, the sounds are a bit wild but if controlled they can place high in this contest College Park - Love this band I can see them in finals for sure, pretty good sounds in general as expected from the CPHS Bridgeland show is called "525,600 Minutes" - this drill is probably harder than all the other bands I have seen on this list so far and if cleaned can probably secure a finalist spot, also some big sounds and wow lot of guard members.

yall Klein Oak has a video out of their 2022 show and they sound fantastic omg!!

It's so hard to rank this contest especially this year . It's such an early season contest it's hard to tell where a band can place if this is their first contest of the season which it usually is. We have to think about new director changes, early season trends, past placements, area results, and word on how they are doing right now. With this in mind the only safe prediction to say is first place goes to the Woodlands, everything else is really up for grabs and the list anyone predicts is probably going to be super flawed no matter what cause this contest is so up in the air. But i'm also curious to see how people rank them

Vista Ridge HS: "Divisi" Claudia Taylor Johnson HS: "Out There" Coppell HS: "Archetype"

Seven Lakes 2022: "sSH!"Music From:BartokBarberThe Gogo's MG Johnson H.S., TX: “All Bets Are Off… an adventure in Texas (Hold ‘Em) Prosper H.S., TX - "Sit Down, Stand Up" Southlake Carroll H.S., TX: “House of Glass” “Ojos Asi” - Shakira“Spices, Toxins, and Perfumes” - Avner Dorman“Adagio” from Spartacus - Aram Khachaturian“Gadfly” from Folk Festival - Dmitri Shostakovich

Wakeland HS 2022 : Spices, Perfumes, Toxins ( info from Instagram) Details like music selections are found on their Instagram account Winston Churchill HS 2022: Won't You Be My Neighbor (info from Hornrank) Musical Selection:"Let me be Frank With you" by John Mackey"Noisy Wheels of Joy & The Seal Lullaby" by Eric Whitacre"Everything is AWESOME!" by Tegan and Sara

Never Underestimate Bands, you never know when another band might pull ahead. This is why I love marching contests, because you get to see how a band grows to prove themselves overtime.

Really? I think it was pretty spot on besides the fact Tompkins got last.