Marble Falls, Burnet marching bands advance to area contest
The Marble Falls Mustang Band performs its marching program, “Ignite,” during halftime of the Mustang football game a day prior to the region marching contest. Staff photo by Caden Senn
The Marble Falls and Burnet high school bands each earned the highest rating possible at the UIL Region Marching Contest in Burnet last weekend, advancing them to the area contest at the end of the month.
Both bands earned a “Division 1” rating at the marching contest on Saturday, Oct. 17, which put them in the area competition.
The UIL Area Marching Contest will take place on Saturday, Oct. 31, at The P’field, 1440 Pecan Street in Pflugerville. The Mustang Band and Burnet Esprit De Corps will face off against nearly 40 programs across the area to vie for a seat in the annual state contest in San Antonio.
Both bands have something to prove this year, with Marble Falls looking to bounce back from a lackluster 2025 marching season and Burnet aiming to return to the state finals.
Earlier this year, Mustang Band Head Director Anthony Leflet told DailyTrib he believes the cohort has what it takes to rebound.
“It just feels different,” he said. “It feels like a different level of commitment. It feels like without us having to really discuss what happened last year, everybody understands that we had a little mix-up, and they don’t want that again.”
Burnet EDC Band President Sarah Rose Smith-Perez told DailyTrib in August that the band’s final destination has been, and will continue to be, advancing to the next level.
“Our end goal is always to make the finals,” she said. “But I feel like we need to start from the ground up, and get those stepping stones first. Get ones at region, make area finals, and hopefully make state finals this year. Just stand on our standards to reach our goals.”