Joyful music to fill the streets

THROUGHOUT Ballarat Heritage Festival, a range of community bands will be spreading the joy of music around the city.

Ballarat Memorial Concert Band, Beaufort Municipal Band, City of Ballarat Brass Band, Creswick Brass Band, Ballarat Pipe Band and Haddon Community Band will be playing in the CBD at various times during the festival.

Ballarat Memorial Concert Band will be playing on the balcony of the Geroge Hotel each Saturday of the festival.

President Gemma Ramsay said the group will be performing a mix of genres from period pieces, to songs from Broadway and the Superman soundtrack.

“The Ballarat Concert Band for as long as I remember has performed on the balcony of The George for Heritage Festival,” she said.

“It’s a longstanding tradition to perform on that balcony and that’s going to continue.

“The band has been around for over 100 years, and this is Ballarat Heritage Festival, so it just makes sense to be a Ballarat-based band playing.”

The Haddon Community Band will also be performing on the George Hotel balcony on Saturday 25 May.

The band will be playing a range of covers by artists such as ABBA, The Beatles and Stevie Wonder.

“We’re looking forward to it because we can contribute to the heritage weekend, provide some entertainment and have a lot of fun,” said president Jonathan Flind.

“We are also playing some more music related to heritage and older stuff.”

Ms Ramsay said she hopes the community feels joyful listening to the bands’ music.

“It’s always really nice to look over and see people enjoying the sunshine and atmosphere and get vibes around the town,” she said.

“It’s nice to be walking around the heritage parts of Ballarat and be enjoying some live music It’s kind of like having a backing track to life for the day.”

To see the times each band will be playing visit the Ballarat Heritage Festival Website.