Bridgtown Concert Showband is a traditional concert band made up of musicians of all ages and abilities.
The band is based in Staffordshire but over its 30-year history has travelled extensively, not only in Britain but also abroad.
In the early years Bridgtown Concert Show Band provided the tuition and opportunities for many young and aspiring musicians, many of whom still support the band today.
With the dedication and hard work of the original committee, the Band secured one of the very first National Lottery funded ‘Arts Council of England’ grants, which provided the ability to purchase many instruments and so give more and more young people the opportunity of exploring the world of music.
Bridgtown Concert Band has experienced many exciting and enjoyable events over the years such as: supporting Sir Cliff Richard at the Davies Cup Tennis finals at the Birmingham NIA; performing in the famous International Tattoo, again at the NIA Birmingham; representing New York & Bermuda in the once in a life time International Lions Club Convention held in Birmingham; many live performances on local radio; taking part in the week long world famous ‘Battle of Flowers’ celebrations on the Island of Jersey and a very exciting tour of Barcelona, Spain, visiting and playing in some fantastic venues along the way.
The Band has been lucky enough to be invited to play at one of Germany’s largest festivals the ‘Datteln Kanalfest’ no less than four times, entertaining crowds of over 150,00 from stages around the festival site and even playing from a canal boat. In more recent years, the Band has played in the most unusual setting of ‘The Singing Cavern’, one of the huge underground limestone mines, unused for hundreds of years and set in the heart of the West Midlands under the streets of Dudley.
The Band was invited to play at the fantastic setting of Warwick Castle on the day of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton and, then at many events celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. In 1994 the Band gained a Charitable status and for many years has been working hard, not only to self fund the running of the band but to raise thousands of pounds for many local and national organisations. It takes a very active part in the local community and is always willing to help in any fundraising events.
The Band continues to keep to its original ethos and constitution of bringing young and not so young people together and provide the opportunities to learn, practice and perform music in a safe environment, bringing entertainment and music to a wider audience with a commitment to help and support others.
In 2013 Bridgtown Band entered its 20th year and celebrated this with an amazing anniversary concert in February of that year inviting past members to be a part of the audience.
In the last 10 the years, like all groups, covid put a stop to meeting in person and it was always a concern that the band would fizzle away. How lucky it was that lockdown provided people with the time to dust off old instruments and to find that love of playing again. This meant that when the band was ready to join together again, it gained new, committed members who brought the band forward to the wonderful sound it is today. Since covid the band has been in high demand and are enjoying playing live gigs to the community, raising money for good causes just like it always did.
As it now enters its 30th year the band is really excited to bring more music, bigger concerts and to continue to add stories to its history.
Profile Information
