Kingsville-Essex Associated Band tunes up the park

by Sylene Argent

On Wednesday evening, members of the Kingsville-Essex Associated Band (KEAB) took the opportunity to perform beneath the wings of the Essex Memorial Spitfire as part of the ongoing Tune Up the Parks summer concert series.

  The concert gave event attendees a little taste of the quality of sound Canada’s longest continuously running community marching band offers to its listeners. The songs selected for the show were past KEAB favourites, in addition to a few new tunes the band unveiled before parade season begins.

  What was neat about this concert experience is that the KEAB Senior Band, which is comprised of the performers who play in parades, and the KEAB Intermediate Class, those who are still perfecting their craft, each had an opportunity to perform. The concert offered the Intermediate Class members a chance to get some performance experience as they aspire to earn a seat with the Senior Band.

  The Intermediate students played “Midnight Mission” and “Furioso.”

  The Arts, Culture, and Tourism (ACT) Committee has hosted the Tune Up the Parks summer music series for the community to enjoy. This year’s music series will include performances in Essex Centre’ Heritage Gardens Park every Wednesday evening and in Colchester every Monday evening until the end of August. In addition, concerts are planned to take place in Harrow and McGregor this summer.

  Performances start at 7 p.m., but could be cancelled or subject to change.

  The next performance planned for Essex Centre will take place on June 19 as the Essex Community Concert Band is slated to perform. On June 26, blues, country, and rock band Foxboro is scheduled to provide the entertainment.

  Music lovers are urged to bring a lawn chair upon which they can sit and have an opportunity to forward a donation to the music act.

  Visit the community calendar on essex.ca to learn more about upcoming performances.