The first ever national Brass Band Week (5th -14th July) has been hailed as a huge success after nearly 170 different events were promoted under the Brass Bands England initiative.

Thousands of people of all ages enjoyed performances from bands at official concert engagements and impromptu performances to family events, festivals, Proms in the Playground, open days and workshops all with the underlying ethos of celebrating community brass banding.

Participating bands were able to benefit from a range of promotional support including online training and a centralised marketing and press campaign, whilst the week garnered national press interest including features on BBC Radio's 1, 2 and 4.

Feedback and interest

As one participating band told 4BR: "We received lots of good feedback from our workshop attendees, who said they would be interested in our future events.

We were able to reach more people than we have before, and garner interest from musicians who previously did not know who we were."

This first Brass Band Week has been such a success and I know it will continue to grow in future years thanks to the work of Brass Bands EnglandDarren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England

Congratulations

Congratulating BBE on the success, Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, said: "Brass Bands occupy a really important role in our national musical life.

I'm always struck by the huge amount of shared joy on show from brass band performers and audiences alike due to the consistently excellent musicianship on display on stage."

He added: "This first Brass Band Week has been such a success and I know it will continue to grow in future years thanks to the work of Brass Bands England, one of the many music organisations we're proud to have increased our investment in over recent years".

Next year's date

BBE confirmed that Brass Band Week 2025 will take place 5th — 13th July.