Grab Your Lawn Chairs: Vintage Band Festival 2017 is Almost Here!

The fun starts tomorrow (Saturday, July 29) at 10 a.m. in beautiful, historic downtown Northfield. Below is a list of the bands set to perform in Bridge Square. Glossy, free programs will be available (thank you, advertisers and By All Means Graphics). Bring your sunscreen, a lawn chair, your family and friends, and your love of music. We'll provide the entertainment!

For more information, or to support this free festival with a tax-deductible donation, visit the Vintage Band Festival website.

 

Copper Street Brass at a previous Vintage Band Festival

Dancing is encouraged!

The VBF 2017 Band Roster and Schedule

• 10-10:45 a.m.—New Prague Community Band
The New Prague Area Community Band consists of community members ranging from teenagers to retirees. It plays a diverse selection of band repertoire, striving to entertain all sorts of audiences. Band members are an energetic group who believe that music is fun; they try to show that in their attitudes and in the songs they play at local events and area celebrations throughout the year. The conductor of the New Prague Area Community Band is Rush Wagner.

• 11-11:45 a.m.—Historic Fort Snelling Fifes and Drums
The Historic Fort Snelling Fifes and Drums is a volunteer musical ensemble dedicated to representing the Fort's long history through music. The musical repertoire spans the period from the Revolutionary War through World War II, the years when Fort Snelling was an active post of the United States Army. This is the ensemble's first time performing at VBF; it is led by Ron Grogg.

• 12-12:45 p.m.—The Sheldon Theatre Brass Band
The Sheldon Theatre Brass Band was founded in 1989 as the resident performing ensemble at the restored turn-of-the-century T.B. Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing. The band is made up of cornets, trombones, tenor horns, euphoniums, tubas, and percussion. In addition to its regular performances at the Sheldon Theatre, the band performs at a variety of venues throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin, and it has performed at many brass band festivals throughout the United States.

• 1-1:45 p.m.—Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble
Understanding that the trumpet holds a special place in the psyche of society, the Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble seeks to enliven, entertain, and enrich the community through the highest level of professional performance prowess and the presentation of music of quality and stylistic and temperamental diversity. It exemplifies the transformative power of music through the performance of music written or arranged for three or more trumpets. The ensemble has performed numerous concerts in the tri-state area, including performances at Lake Como Pavilion. The conductor of Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble is James Olcott.

• 2-2:45 p.m.—Bavarian Musikmeisters
Members of the Bavarian Musikmeisters hail from the Twin Cities and model themselves after traditional German village bands, lederhosen and all. The band's 35 musicians perform authentic musical arrangements on a variety of brass and woodwind instruments: flute, clarinet, trumpet, flugelhorn, tenor horn, baritone, trombone, tuba, and percussion. They perform for numerous events in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and have performed at Germanic festivals in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and South Dakota, as well as at the German-American Mardi Gras Association annual meeting in Las Vegas.

• 3-3:45 p.m.—The Whistlin' Dixies
Led by drummer extraordinaire Kelli Rae Tubbs, this Twin Cities-based group prides itself on its versatility. The Whislin' Dixies has a core group of four fun and funky musicians and adds up to 10 others to play a variety of genres, ranging from Motown classics to vintage jazz and swing to rock ’n roll. The band often performs for weddings, parties, and corporate events.

• 4-4:45 p.m.—Brass Lassie
Led by Northfield native and master Celtic musician Laura MacKenzie, Brass Lassie performs extraordinary arrangements of Scottish, Irish, and French music, mainly traditional, featuring a four-piece horn section, a terrific rhythm section, plus fiddles, flutes, pipes, vocals, and some wonderful step dancing.

• 5-5:45 p.m.—Brio Brass
Brio Brass has delighted and entertained audiences throughout Minnesota's Twin Cities metro area since 1999. Composed of more than 50 adult musicians, the group performs its own unique arrangements written specifically for its members. The ensemble's large repertoire features a broad spectrum of musical styles. Audiences are entertained with fluid ballads, pop of all eras, showtunes, funky rock and lots of jazz. Expect lots of humming, toe tapping and even dancing in the aisles! Brio Brass is conducted by Rick Rueckert.

• 6:30-8 p.m.—Copper Street Brass
The five members of Copper Street Brass have style, substance, and a flair for innovation, which has allowed them to transcend the brass quintet box and evolve into something fresh. Copper Street Brass started in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2007 and settled down in Minneapolis in 2008. The group's new tour program, "The Evolution of the Brass Quintet," features music from Mozart to Dave Brubeck to Adele. Its blend of musical styles and fusion of electronic effects and brass has wowed audiences in communities across the country. Last season the quintet performed for 4,3000 students in 25 schools.

• 8:30-10 p.m.—McNasty Brass Band
McNasty Brass Band is a collection of Minneapolis/St. Paul-based horn players and percussionists that fuse the Minneapolis sound with the spirit of New Orleans The outcome of this fusion is hard-hitting music and high-energy live shows. This is McNasty's first appearance at the Vintage Band Festival!