crunchycookie3

Only 4 state spots between: -Coppell -Keller -LDB -Haltom -SLC -TC Yikes.

I think that one year with Lipman will set them up nicely to sweep captions next year. It won't be like 2019--they'll be an unstoppable force by the time they decide to go.

1. Cy-Fair 2. Bridgeland 3. Cy-Woods --- 4-6: Jordan, Seven Lakes, Tompkins (complete toss-up) 7. Katy 8. Cinco Ranch 9. JET 10. Langham Creek If 4 schools in addition to all of the KISD and CFISD schools earn 1s at region, then we'll see 5 state spots, but certainly not 6. Otherwise, we're looking at 4 spots to state from this incredibly stacked area. Right now, I'd put money on Jordan in 4th due to the school's young age and rapid growth, though last year Tompkins came out swinging at area and Seven Lakes is always hard to count out. Can't wait to see what these programs have in store this year!

Whew… that last block!! It’s looking like bubble central. Finalists in that first block (TC, LDB, FM, Coppell) should be fine. Looks to me like the fight for bottom half will heat up with the weather. Seeing everyone in the schedule, this is a crazy good contest. The two BOA North Texas regionals are no joke this year!

I agree—Cain and Clements need to be lit up to hold a finalist spot. That last block is STACKED!

Here's what I'm thinking pre-season: 1. Marcus (GE, Music) What can you say about Marcus that hasn't already been said. They'll no doubt have the cleanest, most refined show at this contest. They're coming off an excellent season last year, and I'm certain they're only looking to ramp it up for this year. Look out for them to possibly be back on top of the Lewisville Trio this year. 2. Bell (Vis) Similar to Marcus, Bell had a banner year last year--their best in over a decade--and don't forget: they outright won Prosper prelims last year. I was very impressed by how those kids moved last, especially by end-of-season, though Wakeland or Marcus could easily nab that vis caption on the strength of ensemble vis. Regardless, I think Bell is notching out a fresh identity for this historic program, and the judges seem to love it. 3. Wakeland Last year, Wakeland surged early season before having a lower than expected placement in San Antonio. I think their show this year is again relatively unoriginal, following a trend they set last year. While not necessarily presenting the freshest of concepts, they always find a way to steal my heart with their drill. 3A captions are theirs for the taking, unless Lone Star comes out swinging. 4. Bentonville Coming off a great season with Arkansas' first-ever GNats finals appearance, there's no reason to assume this group won't be in top-half. Truthfully, I don't even know the title of their program this year, but I can't wait to see this group and I think it would be awesome to see some non-TX bands finish nicely here. 5. Jenks Similar to Wakeland, Jenks also seemed to have a great start to their season last year that didn't translate to full-season dominance. At BOA Bedford last year, they enjoyed a top-half finish among some of the biggest names in TX, even beating groups like LD Bell, Timber Creek, and Keller Central. I think the OK and AR groups will have to come out swinging in vis this year to compete with the music scene here. 6. Lone Star This is the most difficult group to place for me. Given the rapid growth in the city of Frisco and their incredible music book last year, I think 6th place is well within reach. Would love to see them in top-half and continue to contribute to the growth of Frisco ISD as another powerhouse district. 7. Prosper Prosper always seems so volatile in their placements to me, especially on their Nats years. Just when you feel like counting them out, they go and have an absolutely monster run in Nats Semis, though I think we're on the verge of seeing Cartwright-designed shows falling out of vogue. TX groups that go to Nats tend to have a later surge in their season than those that don't, and I anticipate seeing that reflected in scores here. 8. Keller Central I'm really excited to see this show! Last year, they had one of my favorite visual programs, and I could see them being a sleeper pick for top-half this year. They've been good for a long time, but recently I've started to feel that they're becoming great. I love seeing Keller ISD becoming a force to be reckoned with in the band world. 'Another Time, Another Place' will probably be one of the most unique shows in finals here. 9. Wylie East This is where it gets a bit dicey, since there are a million bands in this 9-12 echelon for this contest--it will come down to splitting hairs. I'm hoping that Wylie East's show this year will be a little more concrete than last year's to lock into finals. With how the new Area J is looking, it will be really difficult for anyone outside of LISD to punch a ticket to state, so they will all be fighting tooth and nail for this finals appearance. 10. Rock Hill Also incredibly difficult to place. This program is so young compared to the rest on this list, and they had an incredible finish in top-half here last year. I could be way off-base thinking they'll be as low as 10th, but their weaker results toward the end of the season have me a bit hesitant to predict them toward top-half this year. 11. McKinney North In their state run last year, I was shocked by their sound--I could have sworn I was listening to a DCI hornline. Seeing them miss 5A finals was a complete shock for me, and I'm thinking they'll turn up the dial even more this year. The only weakness I picked up on was size, something that will continue to grow as the city does. I anticipate them being noticeably larger than last year, which will hopefully translate to a second, consecutive finals appearance here. 12. Wylie I have been blown away by the quality and cleanliness of their shows for the past two years, and I'm a bit taken aback that they aren't rewarded by judges like I think they ought to be. Personally, I think they should be scoring much higher than 12th here, and I often struggle to find one thing to critique about them. Hopefully this is the year the begin receiving the recognition they deserve! I have Mustang and Southlake Carroll just outside of finals. Ultimately, it comes down to how much Mustang can beef up their music program to compete with these TX groups in their first trip down and how clean Southlake Carroll can be by this point. I also think the prelims schedule will have a big impact when the bubble is this large, and Azle, Aledo, Rockwall, and Braswell will all certainly be on fire.

Dang… losing Bridgeland and Wakeland from last year is such a bummer! Those were both such treats in finals.

Y’all… not to be alarmist but there is no way someone big (or several someones) does not get left out of finals. Looking at the list: -Vandegrift -Leander -Cedar Park -Rouse -Vista Ridge -Pearland -TWHS -Hebron -Flower Mound -Marcus -Keller -LD Bell -Coppell -Round Rock -Bridgeland -Cy-Fair -Cedar Ridge -Westwood -Dripping Springs -Wakeland -Westlake -Reagan -CTJ -Bowie -Forney -Hendrickson -Southlake Carroll That’s 27 groups… thirteen will not make finals- I know San Antonio is often the most competitive contest, but this is a new level of stacked

I would love to see some different faces in finals here! I was pleasantly surprised when Cy Ranch made it last year. I’m pulling for Paetow or Cy Park to be next!

I totally get what you mean about the staging. Luckily, it’s such an easy fix. I’m wondering if it’s even a nonissue as the band program continues to grow in quality and size. I’m willing to bet that in the next couple of years they’ll be a powerhouse in this area. Musically, they are so unique and I’m quite partial to their sound. I’m excited to see how this group grows in the near future!

If there was another TX surprise in store, who might you expect?

I think I was coming at it more from the angle that they haven’t been in over ten years—I believe it’s been a similar period of waiting for Cedar Ridge!

I’m always so impressed by how deemed “bubble bands” in TX tend to fare at Nats (like SLC, Hendrickson, Prosper, to name a few.) What are some Texas groups you feel would have decent success at Grand Nationals if they decided to go in the near future? I’ll start: - Brandeis - Burleson Centennial - Cedar Ridge - Clear Brook - College Park - Cy-Fair - Dawson - Forney - LD Bell - Rouse - Wakeland - Westlake - Westwood

Bridgeland is safe. Other than them, I don’t know that anyone is a “lock” with area judges and such a rapidly rising tide in West Houston. We’ll see!

It looks like Prosper has removed this from their calendar, but I’m not convinced that they won’t be going. We’ll see! Side note: It’s crazy cool to see groups like Friendswood, Argyle, and Bridgeland try their hand at Grand Nats. In the last 10 seasons, we’ve seen a slew of 12 first-time TX nats finalists: Round Rock (‘13), Cedar Ridge (‘13), Flower Mound (‘14), Hebron (‘15), Keller (‘15), Cedar Park (‘16), Prosper (‘18), Vandegrift (‘19), Vista Ridge (‘21), Southlake Carroll (‘22), Hendrickson (‘22), Pearland (‘23) The culture here in TX is crazy good, especially considering that many of these groups are relatively fresh on the scene. Looking ahead, I anticipate this list to grow by a name or two this season. I wonder who will follow after that!

Yes, there's some process by which some 5As can opt up to 6A (though I'm not sure how it works.) Those schools are effectively 5A by enrollment, but have made the decision to move up to 6A for UIL activities.

It's also worth noting that De Soto, Lakeview Centennial, Naaman Forest, and South Garland are all opting up from 5A, but I don't believe that all of the 30 schools will even send a band to UIL region or that they'll all get 1s, so it seems likely for 4 or 5 to state from this area. It looks like this area will be a champion toss-up between Forney and Waxahachie, with Rockwall, Duncanville, Sachse, Lakeview Centennial, and each of the RISD schools all vying for state spots, and there won't be a lot of those. These revamped B, C, and J areas are super tough!

UIL alignment never seems to be super duper, but this cycle’s 6A area alignment seems particularly rough for the North Texas region. Correct me if I’m wrong, but area alignment remains the same outside of North Texas for the next two years?

I certainly would, especially if it meant I could rehearse more than 8 hours or start drill before Aug 1.

If I’ve done my research correctly, I count only 18 6A bands, indicating only 3 advancers to state (which is practically set in stone at present, barring a MASSIVE upset on an LISD school.) I’m a bit surprised that UIL set this area up in a way that allows for this, but I suppose that anything can happen with UIL Area!

From the TMEA: https://align.tmea.org/align_2426/index.php

In hindsight, it looks like there maybe aren’t a ton of 6A bands, meaning few spots to state. Outside of the LISD 3, it’s looking like there may not be any more spots to 6A state.

This is exciting! It looks like we’ll get a new tenth area added this year. 6A high schools in this area include: Hebron Flower Mound Marcus Lewisville Prosper Rock Hill Eaton Byron Nelson Allen Plano Plano West Plano East Wylie Wylie East McKinney Braswell Guyer Little Elm

It is official- UIL Area B is regions 5, 30, and 31. Waxahachie and Duncanville are no longer in this area. Cedar Hill Mansfield Legacy Lake Ridge Arlington Bowie Houston Lamar Martin Grand Prairie South Grand Prairie LD Bell Trinity Southlake Carroll Keller Keller Central Timber Creek Haltom Boswell Weatherford Crowley North Crowley This is 22 schools- it looks like there will be a maximum of only 4 bands to state from this area, which means the bloodbath continues (and is honestly probably worse) between Keller, Timber Creek, Bell, Coppell, Keller Central, and Southlake. Not to mention Haltom, who qualified to the state contest last year.

I suspect with Joni Perez returning to teaching at MG Johnson, they’ll be an absolute powerhouse within the next year or two. I wonder if they’ll feel like a TWHS/Bluecoats Lite or if they’ll have their own vibe.