The Bronco Band will compete Saturday, Oct. 31, at the UIL Area A Class 2A Marching Band Contest at Lowrey Field at PlainsCapital Park in Lubbock. The band is one round from a trip to the state championship.
The 27-member band, directed by Marci Criswell, earned its spot at Area with straight Division I ratings at the UIL Region 1 contest earlier this month. It will again perform its 2026 show, “The 80’s Rocked!”
Clarendon is scheduled to perform at 2:55 p.m., the 17th band in the preliminary round.
Twenty-eight bands will compete in prelims. The 10 highest-ranked bands will advance to finals. After finals, the top five bands will earn a spot at the UIL State Marching Band Contest, set for Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Alamodome in San Antonio. This year's field is larger than last year's, when 19 bands competed at Area A and seven advanced to finals.
Saturday’s field includes all seven of last year’s Area A finalists. Sundown won the Area title last year, and the band has won eight state championships since 1987, including the 2024 2A crown. Ropes and Lockney joined Sundown at state last year, finishing second and fourth there. Panhandle, a 2023 state bronze medalist, Hale Center, New Deal and Abernathy also made the Area finals.
Area competition is judged differently from Region. Region bands receive ratings, but Area bands are ranked against each other by a five-judge panel: three music judges and two visual judges. Each judge places every band in order, and those placements are added together to set the final standings. The 2A panel is James Coffman, James Keltner, Frank Tracz, Kara Wallace and Glen Lambert.
The bands advancing to finals will be announced at about 6:45 p.m. Finals performances run from 8:15 to 10:30 p.m. After the last finals performance, drum majors will line up in the north end zone for a drum major retreat, where the bands advancing to state will be announced.
Admission is $5, and children 6 and under get in free. Tickets are good for the entire day, and fans who leave and want to come back in should get a hand stamp. Tickets are available online through Hometown Ticketing or at the stadium gate. All tickets are non-refundable. Lowrey Field follows a clear bag policy. The stadium is at 1302 66th St. in Lubbock.
If the weather is bad, the contest moves to Monday, Nov. 2. Results will be posted at texasmusicforms.com.