Another week into the Bands of America 2019 fall season, and there’s yet another regional headed to the Lone Star state, with Midland the latest site of BOA competition. The second to last non-Super Regional event in Texas.

This one features 24 bands to be exact, and 23 of them come from Texas, but there’s also two outside hailing from New Mexico, and that’s Hobbs and Clovis.

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Prelims action kicks off at 9:45 PM ET and wraps up at 5:15 PM ET, before the full day of competition transitions into Finals at 8:30 PM ET. 

Here’s just a few of the many highlights you can expect this weekend from the latest sampling of Texas band, at the Bands of America West Texas Regional Championship:

Competitive Headliners

In terms of competitive prowess, a couple of bands in particular jump off the page when looking at the schedule for this weekend’s show in Midland.

The first is Timber Creek, which is fresh off of a finals finish at last week’s Dallas-Fort Worth regional event in Bedford, Texas; Timber Creek took ninth place in its 2019 BOA debut last week. The band JUST made BOA regional finals for their first time ever in 2017.

Looking back to last season, the Timber Creek band finished just a few slots outside of a finalist position at the uber-competitive BOA San Antonio Super Regional, nearly cracking 90 points at that event while taking 17th.

Another notable name is Vista Ridge, which finished among the top five — fourth, to be exact — two weeks ago at the Austin Regional. Up against several of the state’s most competitive bands, Vista Ridge finished just three points off of that event’s winner, Vandegrift. Vista Ridge had a head-turning 2018 season and has carried over much of their success and excellence into the 2019 season.

Looking back at last year’s San Antonio event, Vista Ridge put up quite the impressive showing there, cracking 95 points and finishing in the top four, just over a point away from the top position. 

Music and More

Okay, I studied journalism in college, so right off the bat, I’ve got to go back to Timber Creek here. “Black, White and Re@D All Over” seems like a very interesting take on the overarching concept of news — one that inherently presents a unique aesthetic. I’ll be interested to see what Timber Creek does visually with this theme given their show from last year and its very literal interpretation of that theme.

Another show concept that sticks out to me from this group of bands is Lubbock-Cooper’s “Monopoly.” I’m not entirely sure what direction to expect this to be taken, but with a list of artists like Brahms, ABBA and Johnny Cash, I’d certainly expect an exciting production with plenty of memorable musical moments, and maybe a dash of cheesiness.

We’re also getting some Imogen Heap and Philip Glass — two personal favorites — from a band on its own turf, Midland, as well as some more contemporary flair with Vista Ridge performing Adele’s “Turning Tables” and Estacado Early College performing “Titanium” by David Guetta feat. Sia.

Finally, for the drum corps fan in us all, Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” will be brought back to the field by Cedar Ridge and Del Rio; that one was most recently featured by Carolina Crown and Blue Knights in 2010, Guardians and Phantom Regiment in 2013, and Oregon Crusaders in 2017.