Vintage Band Festival
It is summer and July is almost over so it must be time for the Vintage Band Festival. The festival was founded in 2006 by Dr. Paul Niemisto to celebrate the best and the brassiest of traditional band music. Bands from near and far will gather in downtown Northfield’s Bridge Square on July 28 for this year’s special one-day musical event. Concerts will be performed on the Wenger Showmobile Stage from 9:30am until 10:30pm by bands both new and familiar with the festival. Each one brings its own style of music, blending the traditional with the present, performed with great skill and quality. Come hear the music of Mexico and Finland, New Orleans jazz and American swing, American brass and British brass, and a variety of music sure to appeal to all, performed by small ensembles and large touring bands.
First to take the stage will be the first of two community bands, both returning to perform at this year’s festival, the New Prague Community Band, a concert band drawing from the local communities of New Prague, Lonsdale, Belle Plaine, Jordan, Elko New Market, Farmington, Henderson, Lakeville, and Montgomery. Its musicians range in age from 15 years to 70-something, drawn together by the love of music and challenged by their conductor to present a quality and enjoyable performance.
The second community band is the Official Band of the State of Minnesota—the Minnesota State Band, started in 1898. It is the last of the state bands and, according to its website, is one of a few community bands that continues to travel internationally. Also, concerning its concert musical selections, the band incorporates “both current popular and symphonic music” in its program each year following the Sousa tradition. See the website for its history and concert schedule.
Mariachi Mi Tierra will entertain with its various Mexican musical styles at 10:00am. Started in 2003, it is the oldest Mariachi ensemble in the Twin cities. Dig out your colorful Mexican skirts, sarapes and sombreros and prepare to move those feet to the Mexican beat. For a Finnish twist on “the meaningful ethnic art” of music, catch the 1:00pm concert by the Finnish brass band septet, Ameriikan Poijat (Boys of America). In 1990, Paul Niemisto gathered some musicians with Finnish blood to join his ensemble to perform “authentic social dance music and concert repertoire.” Their music includes distinctly Finnish dances such as jenkka, humppa, and the Finnish version of the tango as well as such European dances as the waltz, schottische, polka, mazurka, and polonaise. Dress for the dance and don’t forget your partner.
Two other returning bands are the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band from Red Wing and the Brio Brass from the Twin Cities. The Sheldon Theatre Brass Band is a British style brass band founded in 1989. The website describes them as “the resident performing ensemble at the turn-of-the-century T.B. Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing, Minnesota.” They play a wide variety of musical styles including original pieces. Come hear some of them at the festival. Brio Brass, from the Metro Twin Cities, is a “non-traditional rockin’ brass band” of 50+ adult musicians who have been shaking up the music scene and delighting audiences since 1999. If you like “fluid ballads, pop of all eras, show tunes, funky rock, and lots of jazz,” you won’t want to miss their 4:00pm show.
New to the festival this year are the Southside Aces, Metro Brass, both from the Minneapolis area, and the Twin Cities Brass Band from Bloomington. The Southside Aces, from the southside of Minneapolis, are a traditional New Orleans jazz sextet recognized by the New Orleans Jazz Quarterly for their authentic style. Metro Brass is an 11 member ensemble new to the band performance scene coming to the festival with their own “Metro Brass Sound.” And, the Twin Cities Brass Band brings “the grandeur and excellence of European-style brass bands to the heart of Minnesota.”
The headliners of the festival will be Copper Street Brass and Buddy Koopmans Orchestra. Copper Street Brass is an innovative quintet that fuses the sounds of brass, keyboard, guitar, percussion, and electronic instruments into something fresh and engaging. The Buddy Koopmans Orchestra, a 16 piece group with ties to Faribault, will close out the festival by taking everyone back to a simpler time, to the Big Band Era and Swing. So dress to move and have fun at this year’s Vintage Band Festival.
Credit: VintageBandFestival.org