The Allen band advanced to finals at their Area UIL marching contest on Oct. 29.

After a first performance at 1:15 p.m. for the preliminary round and a second performance at 9:30 p.m. at finals, the band received eighth place, the best the band has ever done at UIL.

“We were so prepared,” Director of Bands Blane Hinton said. “There were going to be no surprises. They certainly stepped up to the plate at each event and got better every day.”

The band has been preparing their show “Cyclone” since August, a few weeks into summer band camp.

“Our expectations with Cyclone was to present a show that our fans, football [team], parents and opposing team fans would enjoy and experience lots of people participating all at once and making a big positive impact,” Hinton said.

Although the show’s drill and music was put together in early spring, the directors made many additions and changes throughout the season.

“We wanted to add more visuals, but we were really concentrating on how we played because at UIL and Area, we don’t get general effect points,” Hinton said. “We like that stuff, but really we’re judged on two categories: music and marching, so we were really focused on music and marching.”

After receiving the news that they had advanced to finals, the band reacted ecstatically.

“It was great. It was fantastic,” Hinton said. “That was step one in the process—not that we’re about winning—but we’re about the kids doing their best. And we felt like they did their best and they should’ve been rewarded for it.”