Fantastic Brass
Danville's annual music event celebrates a classic American art form

From the Native American drum beat to the Celtic harp, every culture since the dawn of time has boasted its own unique style of music While many forms of music, including rock ‘n roll and rhythm ‘n blues, claim to be the music that defines the American culture, there can only be one truly American music form -- the brass band!

There is something about a brass band that just forces every adult’s toes to tap and every child’s feet to dance.

Whether you adore a good Sousa march or can’t get enough ragtime music, if you are a red-blooded American who loves brass bands (which may be a bit redundant) then you won’t want to miss the Great American Brass Band Festival in Danville June 12-14.

After nine years of providing “America’s greatest band concert in the park,” this festival only gets better with age. This year will bring internationally known brass bands and ensembles of all kinds to the Centre College campus.

Despite the national attention this festival draws, the organizers of the Great American Brass Band Festival strive to capture the feel of a bygone era. Civil War bands will join with bands on 1890 high-wheel bicycles and New Orleans-style jazz bands to carry their audience back in time.

It’s a big festival by any standard, drawing an estimated 50,000 people, but at heart it’s small, as in small town.

“We work very hard to retain the small town charm and hospitality which made the festival famous,” says festival organizer George Foreman, who is also managing director of Centre College’s Norton Center for the Arts.

So exactly what kind of band does the festival draw?

Well, there is the Circle City Sidewalk Stompers, an all-clown band from Indianapolis; the Dixie Kings, an all-star Dixieland band; the Hellcats, a drum and bugle field music group from the United States Military Academy at West Point; Saxton’s Cornet Band, Kentucky’s own Civil War-era brass band; the Wheelmen, antique bicycle enthusiasts who play as well as ride; and the New Walnut Street All-Star Orchestra, top players from coast to coast who recreate a late 19th century theater orchestra.

The festival includes something for everyone, whether you are a music scholar or just a music lover.

The event kicks off with the Band History Conference, the Ragtime Era, on Friday, June 12. The Great American Balloon Race will take to the skies 6 p.m. Friday, June 12, at the Danville-Boyle County Airport. The musical portion of the festival will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 13, at nine locations around Danville.

The concerts will stop at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 13, to give way to a parade which will, of course, include plenty of bands and music. After the parade, the music will go on until 9:30 p.m.

While music feeds the soul, hungry music fans will be able to feed their stomachs during the Great American Picnic at 5 p.m.

Sunday, June 14, will begin with a community church service at 9:30 a.m. and then lead into still more concerts and music wrapping up at 6 p.m.

For more information about the Great American Brass Band Festival call (606)236-4692 or visit the web site at http://www.gabbf.com.

Deanna Mascle is a staff writer for The Lane Report.

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