Vintage Band Festival

Vintage Band Festival 2022 at Bridge Square

Vintage Band Festival News

  • A message from Jan Stevens

    Why I gave the lead gift to begin the Vintage Band Festival Fund at Northfield Shares:

    Early in my life I realized that I had won the lottery by being born in the United States, in the Midwest, on a farm into a strong family with unconditional love plus a deep and strong religious life.  My wonderful parents were major volunteers in the church and in the community where we lived.  They lived a life of generosity, kindness and love, providing an excellent template for my own life.

    Newly married and employed in the Dean’s Office at the University of Illinois I was working with an older colleague who was weathering some serious family trouble.  Jeanne suggested to Stan and me that we should build a memory bank into our lives, as she had done. “Celebrate everything, plan special events, travels, family events, make your own traditions. When trouble comes, and it will, you can withdraw happiness and joy from this bank to help you get through this trouble.”    IT WORKS!

    OK, the world is a mess. World history is war, pestilence and starvation. My graduate education is in economics, “the Dismal Science….” However, I have made it a practice in my life to wake up every morning looking for every sparkle of joy I can find to savor!  It is a good thing to do.

    My 19 years of volunteer service for the Vintage Band Festival provides me with great memories and joy in spades!  Everyone involved, Board members, musicians, volunteers, friends, family, audiences, townspeople and the many assorted, random folks who find themselves surprised and delighted to be here during the festival enjoys this event. Live brass music, in the open air, in this (admit it) idyllic town connect the audiences and the musicians with one another.  WE ARE NOT BOWLING ALONE!

    Our audiences are very inclusive and varied.  You will find families and individuals of all ages, races, ethnic backgrounds, economic status and social classes.  All are welcome here.

    My great good fortune is to be able to support this event with a lead financial gift to ensure VBF continues to delight everyone in the future. I want to especially honor Paul Niemisto for his brilliant ideas, knowledge and enthusiasm and Dan Bergeson for his superb management skills and his enthusiasm.  The Vintage Band Festival is a mature organization and ready to receive your charitable donation to the fund managed efficiently and prudently by the local board of Northfield Shares. This fund is separate from our annual operations fundraising.

    The Vintage Band Festival is a secular event that may appeal to your specific philanthropic plans. We have been a 501C3 nonprofit organization for many years, providing donors with tax advantages.

    Our website has more information or text me anytime.

    WELCOME TO JOY!

    Janet (Jan) Gettings Stevens

    JULY 18, 2024

  • Meet the VBF 2025 bands!

    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, show tunes, funky rock and lots of jazz. All of the music that Brio Brass plays has been composed or arranged by the director, Rick Rueckert. He has written more than 200 arrangements and compositions. Expect lots of humming, toe tapping and even dancing in the aisles!

    La Clave Orchestra is a Twin Cities-based,12-piece band bringing music from the Latin-American/Spanish speaking regions. Established with the drive to provide great music for the Twin Cities salsa fans, the musicians of La Clave Orchestra represent some of the finest among the Twin Cities. They perform many styles of music including Salsa, Montuno, Guaguanco, Cumbia, to name a few.

    La Clave Orchestra performs locally at several venues, Latin festivals, private events and other locations. If you are looking for the best Salsa Music Entertainment available in the Twin Cities, be sure to follow them on social media. This is La Clave Orchestra’s first appearance at Vintage Band Festival.

    Southside Aces perform traditional New Orleans jazz. The six-member band began as the brainchild of clarinetist Tony Balluff and sousaphone player Erik Jacobson. The Aces possess a diverse repertoire, with a roll call that includes the names of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington and Bix Beiderbecke. The Southside Aces have performed at the Vieux Carré and Dakota jazz clubs, Crooners Supper Club, Twin Cities Jazz Fest, and the Minnesota Orchestra Sommerfest. The band has also played events in Chicago, Denver, and Des Moines. The Southside Aces are veteran performers at Vintage Band Festival.

    For the complete schedule of Vintage Band Festival 2025 and more information, visit www.vintagebandfestival.org or find us on Facebook.

  • New VBF marketing video launch

    Vintage Band Festival recently released a short video presentation in anticipation of the 20th anniversary of the festival in 2026. Vintage Band Festival: Making Music and Memories Since 2006 combines festival history with an invitation to community members to assist in long-term financial support of the organization. Designed by the VBF Marketing Committee and produced by local actor and videographer Wendy Placko, the 10-minute show features clips from past VBF band performances and interviews with several members of the VBF board of directors.

    This project was initiated by board member Jan Stevens to raise awareness of the recently established Vintage Band Festival Agency Fund for legacy giving. She makes a strong argument to current and future donors of the need for giving that goes beyond annual operational contributions to insure that the VBF tradition continues for years to come.

    You can watch the video by clicking this link.

  • VBF spring 2025 fund drive

    Last fall, the VBF Fundraising Committee set a goal of $25,000 for the purpose of staging a one-day event in 2025. It’s a good time to report on the progress of the effort and the running total today.  We sent out a letter in mid-November to a number of past donors and the response has been wonderful, but not record-breaking. As of May 1 the campaign total stands at just under $14,000. We’ve reached the 70% mark!

    Recently, some of you have received a letter in the mail with in invitation to make a contribution to this effort. We hope that you will give it thoughtful consideration and if you haven’t made a donation in the past six months, please consider one at this time. Gifts in any amount are welcome, but contributions of $100 or more are critical at this time. We are hoping to reach our goal by June 15 to be confident of meeting our 2025 budget.

    As we reported at the beginning of April, VBF 2025 will take place on August 2 in Northfield, Minnesota’s Bridge Square. The lineup we’ve secured is terrific and we hope that you are making plans to attend. Click on this link for the complete schedule and follow us on Facebook for more information and updates as they happen.

    If you wish to make a donation using a credit card, visit www.vintagebandfestival.org and click on the big green “Donate” button. Then follow the prompts. If you wish to donate by mail, make your check out to Vintage Band Festival and send it to Vintage Band Festival/204 W. 7th Street #130/Northfield, MN/55057.

    2026 will be the 20th Anniversary year of Vintage Band Festival. Stay tuned for forthcoming news about that milestone celebration!

  • Vintage Band Festival announces the VBF 2025 bands!

    The Performance Committee of the Vintage Band Festival has finished another difficult round of decisions and is pleased to announce the roster of ensembles for our event on August 2, 2025 in Downtown Northfield, Minnesota.

    Beginning at 9:00 am, the New Prague Area Community Band will play the national anthem and then provide us with a wonderful concert to open the festival. Next up will be the  Sheldon Theatre Brass Band from Red Wing, Minnesota, one of two British-style brass bands in the lineup this year.

    At 11:00 am we’ll hear the feel-good music of the Jack Brass Band. It will be great to have their NOLA sounds return to the VBF stage. The Bavarian Musikmeisters will be the band that plays during the noon hour and every time they come to town they get the entire audience to their feet for a couple of singalongs.

    The Freier Department will take the stage at 1:00. They’ll likely be smokin’ hot like they were last year. At 2:00 Brio Brass returns from a VBF hiatus. Rick Rueckert and his band will treat us to many lively tunes, a number of them arranged by Rick himself.

    The Lake Wobegon© Brass Band will follow Brio Brass at 3:00. The Lake Wobegon© Brass Band hasn’t played at Vintage Band Festival for several years and this year they have a new conductor!

    The next group, Southside Aces, plays “vintage jazz for modern times”. They are a superb sextet from south Minneapolis and a don’t miss act beginning at 4:00.

    La Clave Orchestra joins the fun at 5:15 with an amazing sound showcasing salsa, montuno, guaguanco, and cumbia rythyms. At 6:45 Selby Avenue Brass Band with Thomasina Petrus will again be on the VBF stage for a set featuring a true diva.

    The last show of the festival will begin at 8:15 when RLC Jazz makes its VBF debut. The swing band from Roseville, Minnesota will play as many of the swing standards as they can while the street in front of the stage  comes alive with dancers of all ages.

    Be sure to put August 2, 2025 on your calendar right now so you don’t miss all the fun. Stay tuned to the VBF website and our Facebook page updates through the coming spring and summer.

  • Merry Christmas from Vintage Band Festival!

    On December 7 we kicked off the holiday season with Tuba Christmas in Northfield, the 5th year that Vintage Band Festival has presented Tuba Christmas on the campus of Carleton College. The event exceeded our expectations. We welcomed over 600 people in the audience and more than 60 tubists and euphonium musicians to the stage at Skinner Memorial Chapel.

    Thanks to Carleton College for sponsoring our event. Thanks to Dr. Paul Niemisto for his conducting and his musical history lessons. And thanks to all those who donated and to our faithful volunteers. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

    Photo: Debbie Miller
    Photo: Debbie Miller
    Photo: Debbie Miller
    Photo: Wendy Sundquist
    Photo: Wendy Sundquist

  • Oooooops! Tuba Christmas is December 7

    My mother always told me to double and triple check dates when putting them in writing. Sorry Mom!

    Tuba Christmas in Northfield is Saturday, December 7, not December 2 as the previous post indicated. December 2 wasn’t a Saturday so you probably figured it out, but just to be sure, we’re publicly admitting our mistake.

    Hope to see some of you there!

  • Meet Paul Niemisto, conductor of Tuba Christmas in Northfield

    The conductor of Tuba Christmas in Northfield is Dr. Paul Niemisto. Paul is the founder and artistic director of Vintage Band Festival. He recently retired from the Music Department at St. Olaf College, where he taught and conducted for 38 years. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has a doctorate  from the University of Minnesota.

    Niemisto is also the founder of the Ameriikan Poijat (Boys of America), a Finnish American brass ensemble. In addition, he is the founder and conductor of the Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra, a community symphony orchestra based in Northfield, Minnesota that has been delighting regional audiences for over 40 years.

    Since 1980, Mr. Niemisto has been traveling regularly to Finland, where he has taught at the Lieksa International Brass week; Klemetti Institute Summer Youth Orchestra Course in Orivesi, Chief Conductor and Conducting Instructor at STM Summer Wind Orchestra Institute at Murikka opisto, and has given courses at many Finnish conservatories, including Kuopio, Tampere, Jyväskylä, and Joensuu. He was a Fulbright Senior Research Fellow in Finland in 1999 and 2017. In February 2000, he was awarded the Finnish Military Music Cross (soltlasmusiikkiristi) for his years of work and research in Finnish bands.

    Tuba Christmas in Northfield 2025 will be presented by Vintage Band Festival at 3:00 pm on Saturday, December 7, in Skinner Chapel on the campus of Carleton College.

  • SEMAC awards Legacy Amendment grant to Vintage Band Festival

    On November 19 the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC)  awarded Vintage Band Festival (VBF) a $10,000 Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund grant for its summer 2025 one-day event. Other Northfield recipients of SEMAC grants in this cycle are the Bridge Chamber Music Festival, the Northfield Jazz Festival, the Paradise Center for the Arts, and the Healthy Community Initiative.

    The SEMAC grant will enable VBF to recruit 3 high-caliber bands for the schedule in addition to funding part of the audio technology necessary to achieve a great audience experience.

    VBF 2025 will be held on Saturday, August 2, 2025 in Downtown Northfield, Minnesota. Without this financial support from SEMAC, it would be much harder to balance the budget of Vintage Band Festival. Thanks to SEMAC and thanks to the Minnesota voters who supported and continue to renew the 2008 Legacy Amendment to the state constitution that provides for ongoing funding for arts and culture in the state of Minnesota.

  • Vintage Band Festival announces 2025 and 2026 dates

    The Vintage Band Festival board of directors has decided that Saturday, August 2, 2025 will be the date for VBF 2025. The festival will take place in Bridge Square Park in Downtown Northfield, MN along the banks of the Cannon River. Current plans call for a schedule on that day from 9:00 am – 10:00 pm. There will be 10-12 bands playing 45-minute sets with a short break in between performances for stage changes. Riverwalk Market Fair will share the park with Vintage Band Festival. 30-40 vendors will be onsite showcasing artisan products, fresh produce, and prepared food from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm.

    Vintage Band Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2026. Coincidentally, 2026 is also the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. We are hoping to do some programming that calls attention to this special date as well. Tune in to America250 for more information about this propitious celebration. Watch for periodic updates on the plans for celebrating these milestones in our local and national history.