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Photo furnished.
In a category of its very own making, Danville’s Great American Brass Band Festival (GABBF) is entering its 27th year as the only brass band festival of its kind. A Kentucky original, the festival offers four days of free music, art, and events at various Danville venues. Staffed by a small work-force of two part-time employees who work year-round to plan the festival, with a couple hundred community volunteers pitching in at the the event itself, the festival draws an average of 20-30k people to its festivities each summer – an audience that remains devout and varied.
“We have a large demographic of people that are 60+ who grew up on brass music and they come very specifically for the Army bands and the Salvation Army bands – they like that traditional brass sound,” said festival assistant director Leigh Jefferson. “And we've got a younger crowd coming in for the New Orleans-style music and the college music that we have too.”
Performances include a slew of regional, national, and international talent, with 21 bands and 3 soloists playing over the span of the weekend.
This year, the GABBF has added six new events to its already bustling line-up of family-friendly music and fun, with a special new focus on art being among the most notable of those.
“This year the overall feel is music blended with art and community. For the first time ever we're going to be doing an art festival component. We're celebrating all avenues of artistry, not just music,” said Jefferson. The newly implemented Great American Art Festival will highlight 16 different regional artists from six different states, while the Kids’ Art Fest will allow local kids, aged 5-18, a place to display and sell their work.
In their 27th year, Jefferson says they are looking to year 50, and are concentrated on sustaining a culture and interest around brass music in Danville.
“We're moving into brass music all-year long,” she said. “We got a couple of grants and we're introducing brass music in the schools locally.”
Festival organizers will continue to stay focused on what its attendees want to hear and see, and strive to fulfill their wishes.
“Each year we've added a new component to cater to what our audience wants,” explained Jefferson. “We've added the Brazilian-style brass music on Thursday night, [and] four years ago we added a New Orleans-style party on Main.
“That's why we added a whole kids entertainment section with a kids stage,” she added.
The new Thursday night Brazilian-style brass event is called Brassanova, and it will kick off the festivities this year. Featuring Planeta Azul and The Passistas – “an artistically rich group of Brazilian musicians and samba dancers” – the party will also feature Brazilian cocktails and cuisine.
Jefferson sees this communal sharing of ideas and interests as vital to the life and longevity of the festival, “All those things are ways to make sure that we are giving back to the community that gives so much to us, and also making brass music important for the next generation.”
a New Orleans-style street party on Friday night and Saturday’s Great American Picnic,which featuresa social picnic featuring table decorating contest, six bands and more. Additional features include a hot air balloon race, yoga in the park, a festival market, special kids’ entertainment section and stage and much more.
Other highlights of the weekend include
The Great American Brass Band Festival will take June 2-5 at various venues and locations in Danville, KY – click here for more information about the festival.