With so many excellent programs located in and around Austin and San Antonio, and a consistent venue in Kelly Reeves Complex, it’s no wonder Austin boasts one of the best lineups of performing bands year after year. This year is no different—having nine finalists and all class champions returning, means the newer challengers could have an uphill battle to earn a spot in the night show.

Here's a look at a few of the bands you have to watch!

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Can’t-miss first block

The morning kicks off early with an intense first block of bands, including three returning finalists, two past national finalists, and one returning class champion. There’s also an exciting back-to-back grouping of district-mates Round Rock and Cedar Ridge that you absolutely can’t miss.

Round Rock has an impressive history of success, with too-many-to-count finals appearances across regionals, super regionals, and Grand Nationals. Cedar Ridge is quickly building a similarly impressive record over their school’s short ten-year history. While Round Rock had previously outscored Cedar Ridge at the Austin Regional every year of the competition’s existence, Cedar Ridge was in the higher position for the first time in 2018. One thing’s for sure: you’ll be impressed by the performances on the field and the support between the two bands’ members and fans off the field.

Rouse and Hendrickson conclude the short first block. "Henny" is always a crowd favorite with engaging, colorful shows that will bring a smile to your face or a tear to your eye or maybe both, depending on the year. Rouse was named class AA champion here just last year, but is expected to compete in AAA this season as the school enrollment continues to grow. Considering the trajectory this program has been on the last few years, you can expect them to be similarly competitive in AAA as they were in AA with this year’s production “Midnight City”.

Leander ISD dominance

Along with Rouse, there are four other Leander ISD schools competing in Austin. These five schools are incredibly good year after year, making some people wonder what they’re putting in the water up in Leander—probably zebra mussels. Jokes aside, these bands are spaced out throughout the day, but give you a good reason to keep watching from the first band to the last band of every block.

Leander and Vandegrift have both won previous Austin Regionals. They also both earned medals at last year’s competition. Leander’s “Radioactive” is sure to be a hit this season. Playing a wide variety of music from Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture to Britney Spears’ Toxic, this show gives them the opportunity to present technical expertise side-by-side with modern entertainment values. Vandegrift’s Mozart-packed show “Aria of the Night” can similarly be expected to show off their outstanding sound, that just happens to be performed while marching around a football field.

Continuing their theatrical approach to show design, Vista Ridge's “Turning the Tables” features large table props, that the band uses to transform the field and draw the audience in. The band and guard uniforms give a bit of a darker tone to the show than they have in years past. Cedar Park is also bringing a darker show to the field this year with “Icarus, After the Fall”. If you’re a Beatles fan, you won’t want to miss this show, especially the ballad.

Other returning finalists

Claudia Taylor Johnson and James Bowie are the last two returning finalists and have each won this very regional twice before. Bowie won back-to-back regionals in 2013 and 2014, while Johnson is the current reigning champion, having won in 2017 and 2018.

Following up on their hit 2017 show, CTJ presents The Circle of Life. And yes, it does include quite a bit of music from The Lion King that you’ll be tempted to sing along with. Johnson will also likely be the longest show all day. Most groups will only be performing about half to three-quarters of their show, choosing to add their closer and ending later in the season after polishing the first half of the show. Instead, Johnson jumps in head first, putting the whole show on the field early on, then spending the remaining months cleaning and tweaking it into a final product.

A few other groups you can’t miss

Ann Richards School and Westwood are two more groups you’ll want to make sure you watch. Ann Richards is one of the few A-class bands in Texas, and the only all-woman school that competes in BOA. They may seem smaller, especially for Texas, but they too will not disappoint. Westwood has a mystical winter-themed show this year that might just help cool you off in the Texas heat.

Looking at the line up here in Austin, there’s simply not enough space to highlight all the deserving bands, but that doesn’t mean it’s ok to miss a single band all day long. The action kicks off at 8:15 a.m. CT right here on FloMarching!