Brass Bands, Marching Bands, and Drum and Bugle Corps

It is Concert in the Park Season in Lubbock, Texas.  The West Winds Brass Band http://westwindsbrassband.org/ started it's summer concert series tonight. These are free concerts on Sunday nights in June and into July.  They also play a couple of patriotic concerts, one in conjunction with the First United Methodist Church choir, http://www.fumc.com/music/concerts/_concerts.htm  and also at the 4th on Broadway street fair http://www.broadwayfestivals.com/street-fair.

I have never made it to the First United Methodist Church event.  It is usually a full house, and getting home to feed the cats, and getting downtown to the church will put me there late.  I hate those kinds of crowds, so avoid the crush.

For the last several years I have done the 4th on Broadway Parade and Street Fair. I go to the Stars and Stripes venue, where the West Winds Band plays. They have a variety of music at the venue.  One year, they had a touring military band. One year they had bagpipes.  They usually have some mariachi music, balletfolklorico, and local music groups, including a jazz band.

This year, as they did last year, the West Winds Brass Band will be playing a patriotic concert with the Texas Tech Band Camp Band at the Texas Tech Museum. This was a wonderful event last year, but they did not plan for the attendance they had, which was great! I will plan to attend again this year.

I do not get to the "High Noon Concert" at the County Courthouse Gazebo, as it is in the middle of the work day.

I love marching bands, but have only made it to the combined high school marching band festival at Lowery Field.  It is during the week, mostly publicized through the schools, and seems to always sneak up on me.  I need to plan for this.  http://www.uilforms.com/regions/16/.

Several years ago, Drum Corp International http://www.dci.org/ came to Lubbock. I went.  The event was about half done when an electric storm blew in. The event was halted, and eventually ended, due to the danger of the ongoing lightning.  There were a lot a local marching bands in the audience, and they were derisive about the shortened program, but in reality, if they were on the field, the powers that be would have taken them off the field. The danger of a lightning strike is too great.

I was at the movie theater lately, and the trailers included an advertisement for a Fathom Event airing of the kick off of the Marching Music's Major League 2014 season http://www.fathomevents.com/#event/dci-2014-tour-premiere/more-info/details.  I was at another event, Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me in 2013. The people I attended that event with told me they had friends who also attended opera events presented this way.

Well, I bought my ticket tonight. I am looking forward to this event!

I love brass bands, marching bands, and drum and bugle corps.