FROM THE BOX: Expect the Unexpected

It's all about Expectations.

Editor’s Note: Thank you for following along with us this year! This is the second of the 2022 Edition of FROM THE BOX, our Fall Wrap-Up articles, where our writers look back at the year that was and give you a little insight into their experiences over the course of the Marching Band season. If you missed the first article, There And Back Again by Hattie Bartlett, it’s available right HERE!

If I had to pick a word to describe this season, it would be “expectations”. Going into the season, I didn’t know what to expect. After COVID-19 canceled the 2020 season, the 2021 season was quite odd for many programs; whether the difference was positive or negative differed from band to band. Ronald Reagan (TX) and Vista Ridge (TX) experienced far less success relative to recent seasons. Meanwhile, bands such as Cedar Ridge (TX) soared to new heights, and Hebron (TX) finally won their first BOA San Antonio Super Regional with one of the most mind-blowing performances in BOA history. Going into 2022, questions were raised about many of these programs. Specifically, whether they would continue their trajectory from 2021 or return to their pre-COVID state. These expectations were thrown even more into question with the shocking number of staff changes from programs around the state. 

My season picked up before the first competition in the great state of Texas began, when I visited several rehearsals and public performances of programs in the Austin area. This started when I attended the Vista Ridge parent preview, where I was quite intrigued with the show conceptually and loved the way they performed it, for it being just August. A couple of weeks later, I stopped by Cedar Ridge and was equally impressed with what I saw by them, and that led me to coin the hashtag #YearOfTheRidge. One of my last visits was at Cedar Park (TX), which blew my expectations out of the water so much that I felt obligated to shift gears to #YearOfTheCedar. Whether these programs’ hype would pay off would have to wait until a later date, but top-level bands were not the only ones to catch my eye during the pre-season. One of the bands I was most excited to see going into this year was an incredibly quickly improving Liberty Hill (TX). With how fast the school is growing and guidance from a director well known for his ability to work magic wherever he goes, I was looking forward to seeing what this program would do in the 2022 marching season. 

The first competition I attended was BOA Austin on September 24th, a trial run of both #YearOfTheRidge and #YearOfTheCedar. All three programs had strong finishes, with Cedar Ridge, Cedar Park, and Vista Ridge taking 2nd through 4th in that order. The band crowned champion here for the third season in a row was the ever-present Vandegrift (TX), another program with some major staff shake-ups that shifted expectations going into the season. A few other programs that started their competitive season here would go on to have very different seasons. In 5th place was Rouse (TX), who were coming off an incredibly successful 2021 season which saw them making their first finals at BOA San Antonio. As the top half placement would imply, they were looking to be just as strong as the previous year, but it would remain to be seen if they would keep the same momentum they had in 2021. Just behind them in 6th place was Round Rock (TX), which had an identity crisis of sorts starting in 2018. They struggled competitively compared to their impressive 2012-2017 run, culminating in missing Grand National Finals for the first time in 2021. With new design staff, it finally felt like the program had a product that could match the talent they’ve fostered for years. 

Skipping down to 9th place, I got to see Hendrickson (TX) for the first time, and immediately after their finals performance, I knew that the #HennyTrain would roll into finals at their first-ever Grand Nationals. Hendrickson was a mainstay in BOA finals at Regionals and Super Regionals alike in the mid-to-late 2010s, but with an enrollment drop thanks to a new school opening in the district and some major staff changes, the program fell off quite significantly in 2019 and had to rebuild. The 12th place finishing band in finals in unexpected fashion was Leander (TX). Things were not looking bright for the once-dominant program, and we would have to wait to see where they ended up by the end of the season.

The following weekend, I stayed local to watch the Vista Ridge Marching Festival, where a few programs caught my eye more than others. While my alma mater, Westwood (TX), won very comfortably, as expected, with a stunning performance, the other two medalists, McNeil (TX) and Tom Glenn (TX), had me pleasantly surprised. Both programs have never been bad, but they are overshadowed by most other programs in their respective districts, Round Rock ISD and Leander ISD. I enjoyed both of the shows thoroughly, and I believe that if they continue on their current trajectory, they’ll be just as much of a recognizable name as their sister schools soon. 

A little further down was McCallum (TX) in 6th place, which was very unexpected following their incredible 2021 season, with them finishing in the top half in 5A State Finals. Just below them was the aforementioned Liberty Hill, who exceeded my expectations greatly with a phenomenal performance in finals. Meanwhile, down in Katy, Cedar (freaking) Ridge won their first BOA Regional Title over San Antonio powerhouse Claudia Taylor Johnson (TX) and Ronald Reagan (TX). 

The following week was the Texas Marching Classic back at “Da KRAC,” where most of the top bands in the Austin area gathered alongside Ronald Reagan. Following their third place at Katy, my expectations for Ronald Reagan were understandably low, but I was so impressed by them that from there on, I predicted Reagan to finish in the top three at BOA San Antonio. Vandegrift was narrowly ahead of them in the end, awarding them their second major contest win of the season and what most expected to be their final. The #YearOfThe battle between Cedar vs. Ridge was tighter than ever, with Vista Ridge passing Cedar Park by a margin of 0.025 for the bronze medal. 

Round Rock, Rouse, and Hendrickson took the next three spots as expected, but what was truly unexpected was Leander finishing 9th behind Louis D. Brandeis (TX) after the flu ran through the ensemble, leaving a remarkable amount of holes. This contest had some surprises outside of finals, with McNeil missing after I thought their performance was more than enough to get them in. In the third to last place was Midway (TX), which I thought was drastically underscored as I also had them in finals. I’m excited to see where this Waco band goes in the coming years, as that metropolitan area has next to no representation in the higher levels of marching band. 

After taking a weekend off from band on October 15th, I finally got out of my Austin bubble and went to watch the Duncanville Marching Invitational on October 22nd. One of the most unexpected happenings of the season occurred on my weekend off, with Wakeland getting a 2 at UIL Region, which disqualified them from the Area contest the following weekend, leading to a last-minute sign-up for DMI. What was much more expected was the dominance they displayed over the rest of the field, winning all captions with one of the most stunning and memorable performances of the year for me. 

One performance that surpassed it in memorability for me was Duncanville’s (TX) exhibition performance, which shifted its design from 2021 quite dramatically despite keeping the same design staff. Particularly delightful was their ballad, a jazzy power ballad based on Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind. Meanwhile, down in the Austin area, the rising star Liberty Hill broke all expectations by winning their Area Contest over Tom Glenn, who had been comfortably ahead at their previous meetings. 

The next weekend, I went up to McLane Stadium for BOA Waco, a mix of bands I had become familiar with throughout the season and a few new faces for me. As most expected, Cedar Park swept the field, but who came in second was much more surprising. Moe and Gene Johnson (TX), who I had not been able to see before this weekend, put on a stunning performance in finals which had me and many others convinced that we would be seeing them three times in Lucas Oil Stadium come the second weekend of November. Leander’s performance at Waco was leagues ahead of where they were when I last saw them at TMC, and they were now just on Rouse’s tail. 

However, the most pleasant of surprises for me was McKinney North (TX), a band that had not been on my radar until the week leading up to BOA Waco, when they had an incredibly strong finish at their Area contest. As someone who is quite vocally not usually a fan of French-themed shows, I did not expect their show to end up as a highlight of my season. Shoutout again to the center snare/drumset player/tap dancer for making an already great show one to go down in history.

The time had finally come for BOA San Antonio, the first of two big events the marching season in Texas leads up to. Two bands that stuck out to me for unexpected reasons were Marcus (TX) and Pearland (TX). As one of the most storied programs in the state, it is usually foolish to count Marcus out of the top half of BOA San Antonio finals, especially after the successful season they had in 2021. This year, however, they finished 13th, the lowest the program has ever placed at this event. One of the bands to upset them was Pearland (TX), who most people had written off due to last-minute staff changes and a shift to Wes Cartwright as a designer with such little time to spare, to the extent that they had to choose a show off of his shelf. Despite the less-than-ideal circumstances, Pearland exceeded all expectations granting them their highest finish at BOA San Antonio in their third consecutive finals appearance. Despite their historic season, Cedar Ridge found themselves in the bottom half after prelims which most did not see coming in the slightest. Looking outside of finals, Leander surprised many by only being two spots out of finals and significantly ahead of Rouse, who they had been behind all season, ending their otherwise difficult season on a high note. 

The big story of BOA San Antonio had to be The Woodlands (TX), who, after losing their legendary director Joni Perez and some less-than-ideal preseason videos coming out, had many people (myself included) write them off. I couldn’t believe it when they were announced third in Class AAAA after prelims but come finals, everything clicked for me. Apparently, it clicked for the judges as well, as they found themselves barely behind the very expected champion Hebron, taking the Outstanding General Effect caption in the process. In third place was Ronald Reagan, living up to my expectations established earlier in the season, even if one of the bands ahead of them was nowhere on my radar.

 While my season ended there, the expectations continued to be subverted. At the UIL 6A State Marching Contest, Cedar Ridge redeemed itself from their underperformance at BOA San Antonio with a third-place finish. Vista Ridge was another band who surprised at State, winning both Music Ensemble and Brass over the favorite for both captions, Hebron. Speaking of the favorite, Hebron was unexpectedly upset by Vandegrift in a tiebreaker for the title of State Champion, granting the Austin area band their third, and by far their most impressive, victory of the season. Later that week, Moe and Gene Johnson would break expectations by being the only Texas band at BOA Grand Nationals to miss finals despite most considering them the strongest of the four in attendance this year. The finals show included Hendrickson, who had followed up on their success throughout the earlier season, although most had counted them out after their 25th-place finish at BOA San Antonio. 

At the end of the day (or season, I guess), this year of marching band competition brought us many surprises, both pleasant and not as pleasant, but that’s what makes us love this activity so much. If the same bands won the same contests every year, following the numbers wouldn’t be near as fun. That said, numbers aren't the primary reason we follow Marching Band. The stunning performances by the students, and the people in the stands we share those experiences with, keep us coming back for more. This season had both in wealth, and because of that, there is exactly one thing you can always expect no matter the circumstances: we band fans won’t stop watching.

Aaron Blackley is one of the original contributors for General Effect Media. Despite being young and fresh out of college, he has a vast knowledge and passion for the marching arts and has worked alongside the likes of HornRank as a ranker and moderator as well as the TxBands.com liveblog team since summer 2021. He can be found on Twitter as @GEMAaronB.

Graphics by Matthew Carstensen