2019 BOA Austin

[BlueCircle]

Theres definitely a give and take. No headwear is more comfortable and a performer can be more emotionally expressive but I think a white plume can be used very expressively as well. Also I sometimes feel for the kids who don’t have a shako to block the sun.

[LeanderMomma]

  On 9/25/2019 at 8:20 PM, david19c said:

Noticed through a lot of videos on YouTube and Instagram of bands ditching their shakos for their show... perhaps picking up on Vista Ridge's style from last season and DCI trends? I know VR didn't wear shakos so they could exemplify their facial expressions to the press box, but I wonder if other schools are able to do it too. 

 

Someone commented at the Leander game Friday night that the kids weren't wearing their plumes that night.  They did have their shakos on, though.  Leander's new plumes are really more of a feather anyway, so I wonder why it would matter if they wore them or not.  They are dancing quite a bit this year, though, so maybe that's it.  I'll be curious to see if they ditch them at BOA Austin this weekend.  

[LeanderMomma]

Wow, that was post 2900 for me.  

[abtwitch]

BOY am I excited for this regional, I'll be making the drive down from Abilene to see my alma mater and everyone else perform. Here's my thoughts on each and every program that will be performing:

 

8:15 Wagner (Judson ISD, San Antonio) - AAA

This program has always fascinated me for some reason, there's so much potential in the group and I'm just waiting for them to have a breakout. Not in the conversation for finals, but they could really surprise people. It will be interesting to see how they do later this season at UIL Area with the changes in boundaries at CenTex/SA areas.

8:30 Round Rock (Round Rock ISD, Round Rock) - AAAA

As a homer, I always root for bands from my home district. I definitely think that they are going to have a much stronger year than the last two and will have no issue whatsoever making finals once again, I wouldn't even be surprised them to make a top half appearance.

 

8:45 Cedar Ridge (Round Rock ISD, Round Rock) - AAAA

Back to back RRISD, I love it. A very consistent program and they won't be going anywhere anytime soon, a comfortable lock for finals. Interested to see what their show is all about this year considering how I was a big fan of their 2017 show but not so much their 2018 one.

 

9:00 Rouse (Leander ISD, Leander) - AAA

As a Westwood alumni, this is one of the bubble groups that has me scared. At the same time, I'm a huge fan of the program and will cheer them on even if they end up "kicking" my alma mater out of finals. Regardless of making finals or not, this group will be taking home a Class AAA medal with little doubt in my mind.

 

9:15 Hendrickson (Pflugerville ISD, Pflugerville) - AAAA

Out of all the regular finalists at Austin, Hendrickson seems to be the most vulnerable. With their constantly changing staff there's no telling exactly how that would hurt them if at all. As I've mentioned earlier, they've been going through staff shuffling for a while now but still have held onto their BOA finalist title consistently. I still fully expect them to be in finals and will be shocked if they miss, but I believe if any regulars are going to not make it, Hendrickson is who it will be.

 

 

 

10:00 Vista Ridge (Leander ISD, Cedar Park) - AAAA

Not much of an introduction needed for this group, being the defending 6A state marching champions. Very excited for this show based off of what I've been hearing, the first of many championship contenders for this competition.

 

10:15 Shadow Creek (Alvin ISD, Pearland) - AAA

Stay in the stands at this time for Shadow Creek, a relatively unknown 5A Houston-area school brand new to BOA. Really pulling for these guys later in the season at area and state, because I really think they can go far with the new boundaries.

 

10:30 Del Rio (Del Rio ISD, Del Rio) - AAAA

Coming off of yet another BOA McAllen finals appearance, Del Rio will be ready to make some noise at Kelley Reeves. This is a program that I've been very interested in seeing considering their remote location yet dedication to the BOA format.

 

10:45 Pflugerville (Pflugerville ISD, Pflugerville) - AAA

Pflugerville always seems to have incredible early season performances, especially in the past two years with being right on the edge of Austin and DFW finals. Also they just dropped down to 5A which means they will be competing to qualify for state, where I believe they will likely make state finals.

 

11:00 Jack C. Hays (Hays CISD, Buda) - AAAA

After their breakout season last year, this is another group that could sneak their way into finals. I was a big fan of their show last year and hope they continue improving alongside the new high school which just opened up down the street.

 

11:15 Ann Richards (Austin ISD, Austin) - A

One of the only consistently competing class A groups in Texas and will be fighting to take home another title this weekend.

 

11:30 Leander (Leander ISD, Leander) - AAA

The second group going to nats performing today, I can see Leander easily winning given what I've little heard and I see this show being a fan favorite around the nation. I think Leander will take the class AAA title pretty dominantly this weekend.

 

 

 

12:30 Lake Travis (Lake Travis ISD, Austin) - AAAA

Next up in the bubble is LT who seems ready to have their best season yet given their BOA heavy schedule, even taking the trip up to STL in about month. This group always seems to have had the potential to be one of the top groups in the Austin-area but always is missing something. Could this season be the beginning of a new chapter for them?

 

12:45 Cedar Park (Leander ISD, Cedar Park) - AAA

Your defending 5A state champions and will be back with a vengeance after last year's off season. They always do incredibly well at BOA Austin so they will more than likely be rounding off the top 5 this weekend.

 

1:00 Cypress Woods (Cypress Fairbanks ISD, Cypress) - AAAA

Making their trip up from Cypress, CW will be participating in their first BOA contest ever. They were scheduled to perform at Waco last season, but we all know what happened there (whoosh). They tied for 10th at Area last fall, but lost judges choice and therefore did not perform in finals. 

 

1:15 Lubbock-Cooper (Lubbock-Cooper ISD, Lubbock) - AA

Happy to see I won't be the only one making the trek down from out west to this competition! After many years of competing in BOA, they finally started to show signs of success last season making it into Midland finals much to many peoples' surprise ahead of historically strong groups like Frenship and then placing an impressive 58th (relative to other placements in recent years). I see them sweeping the AA competition with ease and surprising a lot of people for what a band of their size can do. 

 

1:30 John Horn (Mesquite ISD, Mesquite) - AAAA

The third group of the day making their BOA premier and probably the most competitively viable out of the group. After a very strong performance at state last fall, I'm excited to hear from them and then subsequently losing my ability to hear due to the wall of sound that this group produces. We could see them making finals at this competition and really surprise a lot of people. 

 

1:45 Byron P. Steele II (SCUC ISD, Cibolo) - AAAA

I'm not sure what to think about this band other than the incredible trombone soloist from last year's show (give it a listen if you haven't heard it). If they continue to produce players of that capability, this group could really start climbing the ladder in the coming years

 

2:00 Vandegrift (Leander ISD, Austin) - AAAA

Now for the 3rd block's nats attendee, the Viper band will surely put on an incredible performance. If you love Vandy and BOA, then this show will blow you away. They are another group I could see walking away with the title.

 

 

 

2:45 James Bowie (Austin ISD, Austin) - AAAA

Bowie's show last year was incredible and one of my personal favorites, they will definitely be in finals this weekend and I'm excited to see what they have out on the field at this point. I'm rooting for them to make back in SA finals in November.

 

3:00 Belton (Belton ISD, Belton) - AAAA

Like Hendrickson, Belton's staff situation has been less than stable, but they have gone through a complete staff turnover. From what I've been hearing, they are off to a strong start despite the drastic change in leadership. Hoping they actually make it down to Austin this year after they prematurely pulled out last minute last year. 

 

3:15 New Braunfels (New Braunfels ISD, New Braunfels) - AAAA

This group has seemed to plateau after their 2016 season where they made area finals for the first time in over a decade, but there's no telling if they will have another incredible season and place higher than many expect.

 

3:30 Westwood (Round Rock ISD, Austin) - AAAA

My alma mater and where I teched during summer band, so obvious bias is obvious, but their show this year is a massive step up in difficulty and just overall maturity of design. At the same time, I don't see the trend of Westwood fielding crowd pleasing shows changing. Their Christmas show has tons of moments that the crowd will surely gush over and the new uniforms make the kids look slick. Finals will still definitely be a fight for them as always, but this could finally be their year after consistently staying in the 11-13 range since the regional started up in 2013. 

 

3:45 Veterans Memorial (Judson ISD, San Antonio) - AA

I'm going to be honest, I don't know anything about this group. They could steal a caption from LC in class AA, but I don't see them placing above them based off of results I have seen.

 

4:00 Johnson (Hays CISD, Buda) - A

The brand new Hays school that I'm hoping turns into Texas' next Weiss. If you didn't see DMJ's tour of the band hall, the district seems fully ready to support the fine arts. My personal favorite for winning the class A title at not only their first BOA contest ever, but their first contest EVER  ever from this young group.

 

4:15 Claudia Taylor Johnson (North East ISD, San Antonio) - AAAA

Don't underestimate them, that is probably the worst thing you could do. Just because they had one below expected Nats placement in 2016 doesn't mean that's how it will be this year. Also don't let the sequel thing make you doubtful either, there are many factors that make this show and year for CTJ completely different.

 

Now for my predictions (alphabetical order in tiers):

 

Championship contenders

Claudia Taylor Johnson (my favorite for winning)

Leander

Vandegrift

Vista Ridge

--------------------------------

Finalist locks

Cedar Park

Cedar Ridge

James Bowie

Round Rock

--------------------------------

Near locks

Hendrickson

--------------------------------

Upper bubble

Pflugerville

Rouse

Westwood

--------------------------------

Lower bubble

Jack C. Hays

John Horn

Lake Travis

--------------------------------

Next out

Byron P. Steele II

Cypress Woods

Del Rio

New Braunfels

[CTJBandPops]

  On 9/25/2019 at 10:04 PM, abtwitch said:

BOY am I excited for this regional, I'll be making the drive down from Abilene to see my alma mater and everyone else perform. Here's my thoughts on each and every program that will be performing:

 

8:15 Wagner (Judson ISD, San Antonio) - AAA

This program has always fascinated me for some reason, there's so much potential in the group and I'm just waiting for them to have a breakout. Not in the conversation for finals, but they could really surprise people. It will be interesting to see how they do later this season at UIL Area with the changes in boundaries at CenTex/SA areas.

 

8:30 Round Rock (Round Rock ISD, Round Rock) - AAAA

As a homer, I always root for bands from my home district. I definitely think that they are going to have a much stronger year than the last two and will have no issue whatsoever making finals once again, I wouldn't even be surprised them to make a top half appearance.

 

8:45 Cedar Ridge (Round Rock ISD, Round Rock) - AAAA

Back to back RRISD, I love it. A very consistent program and they won't be going anywhere anytime soon, a comfortable lock for finals. Interested to see what their show is all about this year considering how I was a big fan of their 2017 show but not so much their 2018 one.

 

9:00 Rouse (Leander ISD, Leander) - AAA

As a Westwood alumni, this is one of the bubble groups that has me scared. At the same time, I'm a huge fan of the program and will cheer them on even if they end up "kicking" my alma mater out of finals. Regardless of making finals or not, this group will be taking home a Class AAA medal with little doubt in my mind.

 

9:15 Hendrickson (Pflugerville ISD, Pflugerville) - AAAA

Out of all the regular finalists at Austin, Hendrickson seems to be the most vulnerable. With their constantly changing staff there's no telling exactly how that would hurt them if at all. As I've mentioned earlier, they've been going through staff shuffling for a while now but still have held onto their BOA finalist title consistently. I still fully expect them to be in finals and will be shocked if they miss, but I believe if any regulars are going to not make it, Hendrickson is who it will be.

 

 

 

10:00 Vista Ridge (Leander ISD, Cedar Park) - AAAA

Not much of an introduction needed for this group, being the defending 6A state marching champions. Very excited for this show based off of what I've been hearing, the first of many championship contenders for this competition.

 

10:15 Shadow Creek (Alvin ISD, Pearland) - AAA

Stay in the stands at this time for Shadow Creek, a relatively unknown 5A Houston-area school brand new to BOA. Really pulling for these guys later in the season at area and state, because I really think they can go far with the new boundaries.

 

10:30 Del Rio (Del Rio ISD, Del Rio) - AAAA

Coming off of yet another BOA McAllen finals appearance, Del Rio will be ready to make some noise at Kelley Reeves. This is a program that I've been very interested in seeing considering their remote location yet dedication to the BOA format.

 

10:45 Pflugerville (Pflugerville ISD, Pflugerville) - AAA

Pflugerville always seems to have incredible early season performances, especially in the past two years with being right on the edge of Austin and DFW finals. Also they just dropped down to 5A which means they will be competing to qualify for state, where I believe they will likely make state finals.

 

11:00 Jack C. Hays (Hays CISD, Buda) - AAAA

After their breakout season last year, this is another group that could sneak their way into finals. I was a big fan of their show last year and hope they continue improving alongside the new high school which just opened up down the street.

 

11:15 Ann Richards (Austin ISD, Austin) - A

One of the only consistently competing class A groups in Texas and will be fighting to take home another title this weekend.

 

11:30 Leander (Leander ISD, Leander) - AAA

The second group going to nats performing today, I can see Leander easily winning given what I've little heard and I see this show being a fan favorite around the nation. I think Leander will take the class AAA title pretty dominantly this weekend.

 

 

 

12:30 Lake Travis (Lake Travis ISD, Austin) - AAAA

Next up in the bubble is LT who seems ready to have their best season yet given their BOA heavy schedule, even taking the trip up to STL in about month. This group always seems to have had the potential to be one of the top groups in the Austin-area but always is missing something. Could this season be the beginning of a new chapter for them?

 

12:45 Cedar Park (Leander ISD, Cedar Park) - AAA

Your defending 5A state champions and will be back with a vengeance after last year's off season. They always do incredibly well at BOA Austin so they will more than likely be rounding off the top 5 this weekend.

 

1:00 Cypress Woods (Cypress Fairbanks ISD, Cypress) - AAAA

Making their trip up from Cypress, CW will be participating in their first BOA contest ever. They were scheduled to perform at Waco last season, but we all know what happened there (whoosh). They tied for 10th at Area last fall, but lost judges choice and therefore did not perform in finals. 

 

1:15 Lubbock-Cooper (Lubbock-Cooper ISD, Lubbock) - AA

Happy to see I won't be the only one making the trek down from out west to this competition! After many years of competing in BOA, they finally started to show signs of success last season making it into Midland finals much to many peoples' surprise ahead of historically strong groups like Frenship and then placing an impressive 58th (relative to other placements in recent years). I see them sweeping the AA competition with ease and surprising a lot of people for what a band of their size can do. 

 

1:30 John Horn (Mesquite ISD, Mesquite) - AAAA

The third group of the day making their BOA premier and probably the most competitively viable out of the group. After a very strong performance at state last fall, I'm excited to hear from them and then subsequently losing my ability to hear due to the wall of sound that this group produces. We could see them making finals at this competition and really surprise a lot of people. 

 

1:45 Byron P. Steele II (SCUC ISD, Cibolo) - AAAA

I'm not sure what to think about this band other than the incredible trombone soloist from last year's show (give it a listen if you haven't heard it). If they continue to produce players of that capability, this group could really start climbing the ladder in the coming years

 

2:00 Vandegrift (Leander ISD, Austin) - AAAA

Now for the 3rd block's nats attendee, the Viper band will surely put on an incredible performance. If you love Vandy and BOA, then this show will blow you away. They are another group I could see walking away with the title.

 

 

 

2:45 James Bowie (Austin ISD, Austin) - AAAA

Bowie's show last year was incredible and one of my personal favorites, they will definitely be in finals this weekend and I'm excited to see what they have out on the field at this point. I'm rooting for them to make back in SA finals in November.

 

3:00 Belton (Belton ISD, Belton) - AAAA

Like Hendrickson, Belton's staff situation has been less than stable, but they have gone through a complete staff turnover. From what I've been hearing, they are off to a strong start despite the drastic change in leadership. Hoping they actually make it down to Austin this year after they prematurely pulled out last minute last year. 

 

3:15 New Braunfels (New Braunfels ISD, New Braunfels) - AAAA

This group has seemed to plateau after their 2016 season where they made area finals for the first time in over a decade, but there's no telling if they will have another incredible season and place higher than many expect.

 

3:30 Westwood (Round Rock ISD, Austin) - AAAA

My alma mater and where I teched during summer band, so obvious bias is obvious, but their show this year is a massive step up in difficulty and just overall maturity of design. At the same time, I don't see the trend of Westwood fielding crowd pleasing shows changing. Their Christmas show has tons of moments that the crowd will surely gush over and the new uniforms make the kids look slick. Finals will still definitely be a fight for them as always, but this could finally be their year after consistently staying in the 11-13 range since the regional started up in 2013. 

 

3:45 Veterans Memorial (Judson ISD, San Antonio) - AA

I'm going to be honest, I don't know anything about this group. They could steal a caption from LC in class AA, but I don't see them placing above them based off of results I have seen.

 

4:00 Johnson (Hays CISD, Buda) - A

The brand new Hays school that I'm hoping turns into Texas' next Weiss. If you didn't see DMJ's tour of the band hall, the district seems fully ready to support the fine arts. My personal favorite for winning the class A title at not only their first BOA contest ever, but their first contest EVER  ever from this young group.

 

4:15 Claudia Taylor Johnson (North East ISD, San Antonio) - AAAA

Don't underestimate them, that is probably the worst thing you could do. Just because they had one below expected Nats placement in 2016 doesn't mean that's how it will be this year. Also don't let the sequel thing make you doubtful either, there are many factors that make this show and year for CTJ completely different.

 

Now for my predictions (alphabetical order in tiers):

 

Championship contenders

Claudia Taylor Johnson (my favorite for winning)

Leander

Vandegrift

Vista Ridge

--------------------------------

Finalist locks

Cedar Park

Cedar Ridge

James Bowie

Round Rock

--------------------------------

Near locks

Hendrickson

--------------------------------

Upper bubble

Pflugerville

Rouse

Westwood

--------------------------------

Lower bubble

Jack C. Hays

John Horn

Lake Travis

--------------------------------

Next out

Byron P. Steele II

Cypress Woods

Del Rio

New Braunfels

now that is some dedication in your post - thanks for sharing - hope to see you in Austin

[alex9809]

  On 9/25/2019 at 10:04 PM, abtwitch said:

BOY am I excited for this regional, I'll be making the drive down from Abilene to see my alma mater and everyone else perform. Here's my thoughts on each and every program that will be performing:

 

8:15 Wagner (Judson ISD, San Antonio) - AAA

This program has always fascinated me for some reason, there's so much potential in the group and I'm just waiting for them to have a breakout. Not in the conversation for finals, but they could really surprise people. It will be interesting to see how they do later this season at UIL Area with the changes in boundaries at CenTex/SA areas.

 

8:30 Round Rock (Round Rock ISD, Round Rock) - AAAA

As a homer, I always root for bands from my home district. I definitely think that they are going to have a much stronger year than the last two and will have no issue whatsoever making finals once again, I wouldn't even be surprised them to make a top half appearance.

 

8:45 Cedar Ridge (Round Rock ISD, Round Rock) - AAAA

Back to back RRISD, I love it. A very consistent program and they won't be going anywhere anytime soon, a comfortable lock for finals. Interested to see what their show is all about this year considering how I was a big fan of their 2017 show but not so much their 2018 one.

 

9:00 Rouse (Leander ISD, Leander) - AAA

As a Westwood alumni, this is one of the bubble groups that has me scared. At the same time, I'm a huge fan of the program and will cheer them on even if they end up "kicking" my alma mater out of finals. Regardless of making finals or not, this group will be taking home a Class AAA medal with little doubt in my mind.

 

9:15 Hendrickson (Pflugerville ISD, Pflugerville) - AAAA

Out of all the regular finalists at Austin, Hendrickson seems to be the most vulnerable. With their constantly changing staff there's no telling exactly how that would hurt them if at all. As I've mentioned earlier, they've been going through staff shuffling for a while now but still have held onto their BOA finalist title consistently. I still fully expect them to be in finals and will be shocked if they miss, but I believe if any regulars are going to not make it, Hendrickson is who it will be.

 

 

 

10:00 Vista Ridge (Leander ISD, Cedar Park) - AAAA

Not much of an introduction needed for this group, being the defending 6A state marching champions. Very excited for this show based off of what I've been hearing, the first of many championship contenders for this competition.

 

10:15 Shadow Creek (Alvin ISD, Pearland) - AAA

Stay in the stands at this time for Shadow Creek, a relatively unknown 5A Houston-area school brand new to BOA. Really pulling for these guys later in the season at area and state, because I really think they can go far with the new boundaries.

 

10:30 Del Rio (Del Rio ISD, Del Rio) - AAAA

Coming off of yet another BOA McAllen finals appearance, Del Rio will be ready to make some noise at Kelley Reeves. This is a program that I've been very interested in seeing considering their remote location yet dedication to the BOA format.

 

10:45 Pflugerville (Pflugerville ISD, Pflugerville) - AAA

Pflugerville always seems to have incredible early season performances, especially in the past two years with being right on the edge of Austin and DFW finals. Also they just dropped down to 5A which means they will be competing to qualify for state, where I believe they will likely make state finals.

 

11:00 Jack C. Hays (Hays CISD, Buda) - AAAA

After their breakout season last year, this is another group that could sneak their way into finals. I was a big fan of their show last year and hope they continue improving alongside the new high school which just opened up down the street.

 

11:15 Ann Richards (Austin ISD, Austin) - A

One of the only consistently competing class A groups in Texas and will be fighting to take home another title this weekend.

 

11:30 Leander (Leander ISD, Leander) - AAA

The second group going to nats performing today, I can see Leander easily winning given what I've little heard and I see this show being a fan favorite around the nation. I think Leander will take the class AAA title pretty dominantly this weekend.

 

 

 

12:30 Lake Travis (Lake Travis ISD, Austin) - AAAA

Next up in the bubble is LT who seems ready to have their best season yet given their BOA heavy schedule, even taking the trip up to STL in about month. This group always seems to have had the potential to be one of the top groups in the Austin-area but always is missing something. Could this season be the beginning of a new chapter for them?

 

12:45 Cedar Park (Leander ISD, Cedar Park) - AAA

Your defending 5A state champions and will be back with a vengeance after last year's off season. They always do incredibly well at BOA Austin so they will more than likely be rounding off the top 5 this weekend.

 

1:00 Cypress Woods (Cypress Fairbanks ISD, Cypress) - AAAA

Making their trip up from Cypress, CW will be participating in their first BOA contest ever. They were scheduled to perform at Waco last season, but we all know what happened there (whoosh). They tied for 10th at Area last fall, but lost judges choice and therefore did not perform in finals.

 

1:15 Lubbock-Cooper (Lubbock-Cooper ISD, Lubbock) - AA

Happy to see I won't be the only one making the trek down from out west to this competition! After many years of competing in BOA, they finally started to show signs of success last season making it into Midland finals much to many peoples' surprise ahead of historically strong groups like Frenship and then placing an impressive 58th (relative to other placements in recent years). I see them sweeping the AA competition with ease and surprising a lot of people for what a band of their size can do.

 

1:30 John Horn (Mesquite ISD, Mesquite) - AAAA

The third group of the day making their BOA premier and probably the most competitively viable out of the group. After a very strong performance at state last fall, I'm excited to hear from them and then subsequently losing my ability to hear due to the wall of sound that this group produces. We could see them making finals at this competition and really surprise a lot of people.

 

1:45 Byron P. Steele II (SCUC ISD, Cibolo) - AAAA

I'm not sure what to think about this band other than the incredible trombone soloist from last year's show (give it a listen if you haven't heard it). If they continue to produce players of that capability, this group could really start climbing the ladder in the coming years

 

2:00 Vandegrift (Leander ISD, Austin) - AAAA

Now for the 3rd block's nats attendee, the Viper band will surely put on an incredible performance. If you love Vandy and BOA, then this show will blow you away. They are another group I could see walking away with the title.

 

 

 

2:45 James Bowie (Austin ISD, Austin) - AAAA

Bowie's show last year was incredible and one of my personal favorites, they will definitely be in finals this weekend and I'm excited to see what they have out on the field at this point. I'm rooting for them to make back in SA finals in November.

 

3:00 Belton (Belton ISD, Belton) - AAAA

Like Hendrickson, Belton's staff situation has been less than stable, but they have gone through a complete staff turnover. From what I've been hearing, they are off to a strong start despite the drastic change in leadership. Hoping they actually make it down to Austin this year after they prematurely pulled out last minute last year.

 

3:15 New Braunfels (New Braunfels ISD, New Braunfels) - AAAA

This group has seemed to plateau after their 2016 season where they made area finals for the first time in over a decade, but there's no telling if they will have another incredible season and place higher than many expect.

 

3:30 Westwood (Round Rock ISD, Austin) - AAAA

My alma mater and where I teched during summer band, so obvious bias is obvious, but their show this year is a massive step up in difficulty and just overall maturity of design. At the same time, I don't see the trend of Westwood fielding crowd pleasing shows changing. Their Christmas show has tons of moments that the crowd will surely gush over and the new uniforms make the kids look slick. Finals will still definitely be a fight for them as always, but this could finally be their year after consistently staying in the 11-13 range since the regional started up in 2013.

 

3:45 Veterans Memorial (Judson ISD, San Antonio) - AA

I'm going to be honest, I don't know anything about this group. They could steal a caption from LC in class AA, but I don't see them placing above them based off of results I have seen.

 

4:00 Johnson (Hays CISD, Buda) - A

The brand new Hays school that I'm hoping turns into Texas' next Weiss. If you didn't see DMJ's tour of the band hall, the district seems fully ready to support the fine arts. My personal favorite for winning the class A title at not only their first BOA contest ever, but their first contest EVER ever from this young group.

 

4:15 Claudia Taylor Johnson (North East ISD, San Antonio) - AAAA

Don't underestimate them, that is probably the worst thing you could do. Just because they had one below expected Nats placement in 2016 doesn't mean that's how it will be this year. Also don't let the sequel thing make you doubtful either, there are many factors that make this show and year for CTJ completely different.

 

Now for my predictions (alphabetical order in tiers):

 

Championship contenders

Claudia Taylor Johnson (my favorite for winning)

Leander

Vandegrift

Vista Ridge

--------------------------------

Finalist locks

Cedar Park

Cedar Ridge

James Bowie

Round Rock

--------------------------------

Near locks

Hendrickson

--------------------------------

Upper bubble

Pflugerville

Rouse

Westwood

--------------------------------

Lower bubble

Jack C. Hays

John Horn

Lake Travis

--------------------------------

Next out

Byron P. Steele II

Cypress Woods

Del Rio

New Braunfels

Wow talk about putting your thoughts to the page! And i agree with alot what you had stated above

[LHSbandDad]

  On 9/25/2019 at 9:15 PM, LeanderMomma said:

Someone commented at the Leander game Friday night that the kids weren't wearing their plumes that night.  They did have their shakos on, though.  Leander's new plumes are really more of a feather anyway, so I wonder why it would matter if they wore them or not.  They are dancing quite a bit this year, though, so maybe that's it.  I'll be curious to see if they ditch them at BOA Austin this weekend.  

My son said the reason they did not wear the feathers (a.k.a. plume) was because it was real windy and the directors did not want to risk any damage since they are so new (and expensive to replace). 

[Rudedog34]

What time do the gates open?

[FaultLineBlues]

  On 9/26/2019 at 12:32 AM, Rudedog34 said:

What time do the gates open?

7:45 AM I believe.

[DrumCorpsGeek]

Vandy has new unis! Very interesting.

[Danpod]

  On 9/26/2019 at 12:33 AM, FaultLineBlues said:

7:45 AM I believe.

This is correct.

[FaultLineBlues]

  On 9/26/2019 at 1:51 AM, DrumCorpsGeek said:

 

Vandy has new unis! Very interesting.

I've heard Cedar Ridge does too! I saw it posted on their Twitter a bit ago. It's interesting considering how similar the two band's uniforms were before.

[Garchomp]

If anyone want's a preview of Vista and Vandergrift they are playing each other Friday night at Gupton Stadium (just a couple of miles up the road from Kelly Reeves stadium).   Vista will be preforming Turning the Tables before the game (half time will be middle school night for Vista).   If you want to see the show come around 6 to 6:15 pm. so you can get in and seated in time.  I am not sure of Vandergrift's plans for 1/2 time but hope they will be performing the full show!

 

It should be a good football game also, both teams are undefeated!

[LeanderMomma]

  On 9/26/2019 at 2:16 AM, Garchomp said:

If anyone want's a preview of Vista and Vandergrift they are playing each other Friday night at Gupton Stadium (just a couple of miles up the road from Kelly Reeves stadium). Vista will be preforming Turning the Tables before the game (half time will be middle school night for Vista). If you want to see the show come around 6 to 6:15 pm. so you can get in and seated in time. I am not sure of Vandergrift's plans for 1/2 time but hope they will be performing the full show!

 

It should be a good football game also, both teams are undefeated!

I’m pretty sure I will be there!!

[BandFan95]

Sounds like lots of bands got new unis.  Good!  

[BlueCircle]

Just some thoughts about the championship contenders

 

CTJ: I think they might somehow blow everyone’s expectations out of the water. I know I was skeptical about the sequel idea but I think it works perfectly from what I’ve seen so far. CTJ has the ability to take an extremely difficult production, put it all out there for the first competition, and somehow make it all work. It’s theres to lose but the competition will be tight.

 

Vandy: I love how different Vandy is from CTJ and Leander. The recognizable music is always a treat to listen to, and I think they could definitely snag the music or visual caption depending on their cleanliness. They could also win the whole thing because most of GE is music after all.

 

—————————————————————————————

 

Leander: This show is AMBITIOUS. After seeing a video of the performance from the game a week ago, I’m not entirely convinced that they are going to be clean enough or complete enough to stand up to CTJ or Vandy this week. Come Nats, that will be an entirely different story. The Britney Spears section is probably the single most fun marching band moment I’ve ever seen, and they haven’t even competed yet. This is 100% a Grand Nationals show, so it might take some more time before it really shines, but know knows? Leander could still win the whole thing on Saturday.

 

Vista Ridge: It is going to be VERY interesting to see how this thing gets cleaned up. Everything has been amped up ten-fold. And I mean everything from visual difficulty, music, color guard, etc. They might come out and shock everyone with their cleanliness, but I have a feeling that they will just need more time.

 

Most importantly I’m just excited to appreciate the hard work and art of so many passionate teams.

[MrBandGuy]

Where’s Pioneer? I love them

[El Gato_01]

Most have Cedar Park in Finals as expected. It's a state year and the new staff there has settled and I'm sure they will be back up there and they have had Mr. Spicer and Van Doren out there a bit. I fully expect them to be finals. 

 

However, in the same UIL 5A Classification is Shadow Creek. An unknown and relatively new school and one that did not attend a BOA Regional last year. However, at the recent Honor Band placements they placed 9th while CPHS placed 12th: https://www.tmea.org/divisions-regions/band/honor-band/history

 

So while Honor Band is a different animal (look at Lopez HS for example on stage vs field results) they are clearly playing at a high level and coupled with their unknown history (No BOA appearance EVER...I think) makes them a dark horse for me as finalist at this regional.

[CTJBandPops]

  On 9/26/2019 at 6:26 PM, BlueCircle said:

Just some thoughts about the championship contenders

 

CTJ: I think they might somehow blow everyone’s expectations out of the water. I know I was skeptical about the sequel idea but I think it works perfectly from what I’ve seen so far. CTJ has the ability to take an extremely difficult production, put it all out there for the first competition, and somehow make it all work. It’s theres to lose but the competition will be tight.

 

Vandy: I love how different Vandy is from CTJ and Leander. The recognizable music is always a treat to listen to, and I think they could definitely snag the music or visual caption depending on their cleanliness. They could also win the whole thing because most of GE is music after all.

 

—————————————————————————————

 

Leander: This show is AMBITIOUS. After seeing a video of the performance from the game a week ago, I’m not entirely convinced that they are going to be clean enough or complete enough to stand up to CTJ or Vandy this week. Come Nats, that will be an entirely different story. The Britney Spears section is probably the single most fun marching band moment I’ve ever seen, and they haven’t even competed yet. This is 100% a Grand Nationals show, so it might take some more time before it really shines, but know knows? Leander could still win the whole thing on Saturday.

 

Vista Ridge: It is going to be VERY interesting to see how this thing gets cleaned up. Everything has been amped up ten-fold. And I mean everything from visual difficulty, music, color guard, etc. They might come out and shock everyone with their cleanliness, but I have a feeling that they will just need more time.

 

Most importantly I’m just excited to appreciate the hard work and art of so many passionate teams.

it appears that everyone has in fact narrowed this down to a 4 horse race on Saturday - and 3 of the 4 are in a grand nats year - should be a great competition - good luck to all and hoping for no rain (or not much) 

[Nny14]

Weather for this isn't looking so good now...

[FaultLineBlues]

  On 9/27/2019 at 1:44 AM, Nny14 said:

 

Weather for this isn't looking so good now...

noooooo :')

[JeremiahW]

We can always do like they did last year and compress it to a 12-minute interval, squeezing all of finals into just 2 hours!

[Samuel Culper]

It's a 30% chance of rain. Around here that equates to about 5%.

[TxBands:)]

Does anyone have any exciting picks for predictions? I personally have Jack Hays in finals, and Vandegrift taking the gold medal!

[natertater21000]

  On 9/27/2019 at 3:06 AM, Samuel Culper said:

 

It's a 30% chance of rain. Around here that equates to about 5%.

Or 100% lol. Gotta love Texas.