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With the announcement of the Guild Hall closing last year, I was worried that Brass at the Guild was going to meet the same fate as the...

It only feels like a couple of weeks since I was last gearing myself up for a contest. Oh. That’ll be because it has only been a couple...

So it’s been five years since I’ve been to Butlins and it’s nice to see that, like the other wonders of the world, Butlins hasn’t changed...

Last weekend I had the pleasure of being asked to dep for two bands at the Blackburn and Darwen Hymn and March contest. Before I get into...

I’ve been incredibly lucky to have experienced some brilliant performance opportunities during my time in banding. From performing at the...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Last year I did a post of things to look out for at Whit Friday (click here to read). This year...

As I said in a previous post, this year was my debut at the Spring Festival in Blackpool and I have to say it was an experience. A hole...

Hello! So, if you’ve been following this blog for a while (you troopers!) and you’ve read the title, I suppose you’ve probably guessed...

It’s in Skegness…so not the most local gig in the world, but it’s the banding equivalent of going to Disneyland…sort of. Do not let your...

Exaggerated or accurate? You decide. Enjoy! Contest Morning ‘This is too early for a Saturday/Sunday’ Searching for matching black socks,...

Check out It’s Not a Trumpet’s first ever Youtube video! Follow me as I prepare to play Principal Cornet with the wonderful Golborne band...

Whilst playing in brass bands does provide a player with loads of skills, solo competitions allow players to solely focus on their...

So, here we are, the last piece to be featured at this year’s Spring Festival, ‘The Triumph of Time’ by Peter Graham which will be...

here I will admit, I may be slightly bias with this piece because I am OBSESSED with Eric Ball’s writing. He’s one of the few composers...

So, I spent this Saturday being a band geek watching some high class bands from all over the country compete in the 96th Spring Festival...

Performance to be proud of. Photo from 4barsrest The plan was to write and post the retrospective of the Second Section National Finals...

Eccles Borough Band (led by Mareika Gray) playing at the North West Regionals Championships 2015, in the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. Photo...