Category Archives: VBF Bands

Bavarian Musikmeisters return to Vintage Band Festival

Members of Bavarian Musikmeisters hail from southern Minnesota 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.

Bavarian Musikmeisters will perform at 1:00 pm on July 29 at VBF 2023.

Latin Rhythms will once again be heard in Bridge Square

Minnesotans are fortunate to have a number of bands that focus on Mexican and other south of the border musical traditions. Two of the best (in our opinion!) are veteran performers at Vintage Band Festival and we’re excited to welcome them back to Northfield in 2023.

Banda La Verdadera

This high-energy Minneapolis band is a favorite Vintage Band Festival performer. Banda La Verdadera plays a type of traditional Mexican music that features brass instruments, woodwinds, drums and singing. The band performs a variety of musical forms, including rancheras, boleros and cumbias. They are in high demand in Minnesota and we’re lucky to have them back in Northfield in 2023.

Mariachi Mi Tierra

The mariachi ensemble is the only ensemble that requires the vihuela and the bass (guitarrón mexicano). These two instruments are the rhythm section. There’s no other ensemble in the world that uses them, except mariachi. If you go to a festival or a party and they say they have mariachi and they don’t have a vihuela and a bass, it’s not really Mariachi. The rest of the instrumentation is pretty straightforward. They include trumpets, violins, and vocal singers.

Mariachi Mi Tierra is the oldest Mariachi ensemble in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area. Rosalio Castro (trumpet), who formed the group in 2003, has played various Mexican styles of music since he was in his teens. Eduardo Castro (also trumpet) is the group’s director. Together, the Castros have brought together a group that produces the full sound of authentic mariachi in Minnesota.

Mariachi Mi Tierra will perform at 5:00 pm on July 29, 2023 and Banda La Verdadera will take the stage at 6:00 pm. View the complete schedule for VBF 2023 here: https://vintagebandfestival.org/vbf-2023/ and check back for any updates.

Brass Messengers to play an evening set at VBF 2023

Brass Messengers are a Minneapolis street band playing mostly original music inspired by global sources.  The BMs formed from the annual rubble of of the Heart of the Beast Mayday Parade and Ceremony in Minneapolis.  The musical origins were found in the music of Africa, the Carribean and Balkans, but now the BMs play whatever works, throwing in a country song to the crying drinkers, a high speed polka or two for the midwest dancers, running in circles with the little ones, activating gatherings of our activist kin or a bit of Black Sabbath for the metal crowd.   But mostly, it is an original music that rises from the heart of the band that can only be described as a homegrown Minneapolis street music sound.

The Messengers play stages large and small, events from parties to bars, large theaters to street parades and funerals.  The Mess have been a part of the HONK community for nine years running, attending more than ten HONK festivals in Sommerville, Seattle and Austin, TX.

Vintage Band Festival 2023 will take place on Saturday, July 29,. 2023 in Northfield, Minnesota’s Bridge Square. Brass Messengers will take the stage at 7:15 pm.

The Red Bull Band returns to Vintage Band Festival

The 34th Infantry Division Band of the United States Army is returning to Northfield for Vintage Band Festival 2023. “The Red Bull Band” has performed at VBF several times in the past and we’re delighted to have them back.

The band is stationed in Rosemount, Minnesota and is currently assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota National Guard. The mission of the 34th Infantry Division Band is to provide music throughout the spectrum of military operations to instill in soldiers the will to fight and win, foster the support of citizens and promote the national interests of the United States at home and abroad.

Officially organized 30 April 1900, the 34th Infantry Division Band has proudly served state and nation for over 114 years, seeing service in WWI, WWII and the Global War on Terrorism. Whether performing for the public, supporting military ceremonies, or entertaining US Service members and our allies the Soldier-Musicians of the Red Bull Band are honored to serve in one of the US Army’s most respected Divisions.

Vintage Band Festival 2023 will be on Saturday, July 29, 2023. The Red Bull Band performs at 11:00 am.

Music around town during VBF 2022

Tom Baker’s Mardi Gras Brass

OK, so there’s the fantastic lineups in Bridge Square for four days (Thu-Sun) and Central Park for two days (Sat/Sun) and  the 4 offsite location concerts on Thursday (Farmington, Cannon Falls, Montgomery, and Nerstrand), but is that all there is Vintage Band Festival?

Well, no. Windworks Quintet with play at Fifty North at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 29, and at the Northfield Public Library at 2:00 p.m. the same day.

Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band will play at the VFW Post 4393 Hall at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 29. Tom Baker’s Mardi Gras Brass will play at the Contented Cow Pub at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 29.

Ameriikan Poijat will play at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 30 at Tanzenwald Brewing Co.

Oh, and did we mention that on Sunday, July 31, you can hear Vintage Band Festival bands in 8 Northfield churches?

OK, we’ll stop now. Good luck on getting to each and every one of these shows.

You’re welcome!

To view the complete Vintage Band Festival 2022 Program, click here.

Vintage Band Festival opens with Brass Lassie and Selby Avenue Brass Band

Thursday, July 28 at 6:30 p.m. the first notes of Vintage Band Festival 2022 will sound. Brass Lassie, a Celtic band from the Twin Cities with a brass horn component will play the opening set. Brass Lassie is a bold Minnesota-based ensemble combining Celtic music with a big band attitude, performing extraordinary takes on Scottish, Irish and Breton music. Brass Lassie features a four-piece horn section, a great rhythm section, fine fiddle, flutes, concertina and vocals in smart, joyous brass-driven arrangements. The band’s founder and leader is Northfield native Laura McKenzie and Vintage Band Festival is excited for their return to the VBF stage.

The Selby Avenue Brass Band featuring Thomasina Petrus is a relatively new voice in the Minneapolis/St.Paul music scene. The group is led by Tom Wells, tubist, arranger and composer and music educator in the Twin Cities area. Tom’s compositions and arrangements fuel a band comprised of enthusiastic and experienced musicians (including a couple of Grammy winners). While their musical roots come from the streets of New Orleans, they expand from that genre into many others. Thomasina Petrus is a Minneapolis actor and jazz vocalist, known for her signature role as jazz icon Billie Holiday. In 2019 the band did a club gig at the festival, but this is the group’s first appearance at the Bridge Square Legacy Stage. The music starts at 8:00 p.m.

Banda La Verdadera returns for VBF 2021

BANDA LA VERDADERA

This high-energy Minneapolis band is making its third appearance at Vintage Band Festival. Banda La Verdadera plays a type of traditional Mexican music that features brass instruments, woodwinds, drums and singing. The band performs a variety of pieces, including rancheras, boleros and cumbias. It often performs for weddings, parties, and other events.

Banda La Verdadera is sponsored by Nan and Dave Shumway. Banda La Verdadera plays at 1:30 pm on July 31.

Banda La Verdadera

Roseville Big Band comes to Vintage Band Festival

ROSEVILLE BIG BAND

The Roseville Big Band is a 19-piece swing band in the Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey style, with the Rosetones vocal quartet recreating the tight harmonies that made the Modernaires and Pied Pipers popular adjuncts to the Miller and Dorsey bands. 2021 Vintage Band Festival audiences will enjoy our Gershwin tribute and other timeless music from the Big Band Era of the 20th century.

In a typical year, they give 12 to 15 performances, including the Carleton College Mid-Winter Ball, the Minnesota Commemorative Air Force’s USO-style hangar dances, and concerts in parks and senior residences. Dr. Glen Newton has led the Roseville Big Band since 1989. He formed the Rosetones vocal quartet in 1996 to complement the band’s instrumentals and vocal solos and duets.

Roseville Big Band is sponsored by Merchants Bank  and Dennis and Janet Hahn. Roseville Big Band plays at 8:15 pm on July 31.

Roseville Big Band

Jazz and more jazz at #VBF 2021

Brass and wind instruments are essential elements of jazz ensembles. There is no better example of this fact than in the bands that play New Orleans jazz, whether that’s traditional style or music that is played in the streets, funerary events or Mardi Gras celebrations. Joining us for Vintage Band Festival 2021 are two of Minnesota’s best jazz bands, Southside Aces and Jack Brass Band. They’ve both been to Northfield on multiple occasions and we’re delighted to welcome them back once again. Jack Brass Band plays at 10:30 and Southside Aces plays at 5:30 on July 31.

SOUTHSIDE ACES

The 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 appearing for the third time at Vintage Band Festival.

Southside Aces is sponsored by Mary Rosenberg. Southside Aces plays at 5:30 pm on July 31.

Southside Aces

JACK BRASS BAND

Based on the traditions of New Orleans brass bands, the Jack Brass Band is an ambassador of the Crescent City’s rich musical history. The eight-piece band plays “Feel-Good Music” for audiences of any age, for any occasion. The Jack Brass Band has the ability and repertoire to play everything from old New Orleans jazz from Louis Armstrong’s era, to the modern street Mardi-Gras anthems with the instrumentation, feel and energy they have mastered through countless gigs, parades, festival appearances and trips to New Orleans to listen, learn and play alongside the masters. The band plays with a groove that will make you want to get up and dance!

Jack Brass Band is sponsored by Community Resource Bank. Jack Brass Band performs at 10:30 am on July 31.

Jack Brass Band

Trumpets and tubas at #VBF2021

Two brass ensembles that will perform at #VBF2021 each specialize in a specific instrument. Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble produces a wall-of-sound made by 24 trumpets. The Above Average Tuba Quartet consists of tubas, the lowest of the low-brass instruments. Both groups will provide maximum listening entertainment.

ABOVE AVERAGE TUBA QUARTET

The Above Average Tuba Quartet was formed in 2013 by members of the Lake Wobegon© Brass Band and is making its Vintage Band Festival debut. Leader Roger Gomoll noted that tubas and euphoniums are related instruments. The euphonium is considered to be a “tenor tuba” and plays an octave higher than the larger bass tuba and double bass tuba. He also said, “Tubists and euphoniumists tend to gather in larger groups around Christmastime, when as many as 100 or more festively dressed players perform Christmas carols as part of the nationally organized Tuba Christmas concerts. It’s been said but not verified that the U.S. Geological Survey office tracks the frequency and location of these concerts with their seismic instruments.”

Above Average Tuba Quartet

The Above Average Tuba Quartet performs at 9:30 a.m. on July 31 at Bridge Square, Downtown Northfield.

TWIN CITIES TRUMPET ENSEMBLE

The Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble is the only regularly performing, 24-trumpet musical ensemble in the United States. It boasts a vast repertoire, ranging from the Renaissance to the present, and exemplifies the transformative power of music through the performance of music written or arranged for three or more trumpets. It has performed numerous concerts in the tri-state area, including performances at Como Lakeside Pavilion in St. Paul, the Lake Harriet Band Shell in Minneapolis, and several churches. Led by James Olcott, the Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble has performed at Vintage Band Festival several times.

Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble

Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble performs at 12:30 p.m. on July 31 at Bridge Square, Downtown Northfield.