Fifteen years ago today, on 4 July 2010, my old brass band, Brass to the Future, played an outdoor concert in a park in my hometown of Aiken, South Carolina.  It was a bit of a “guerrilla” concert, in that we did not ask permission, but just showed up in the park and started playing for our fans.

In the spirit of Independence Day, I’m featuring rare footage from that concert today.

The only footage I know of that exists is on YouTube.  My recent ex-girlfriend at the time (who went on to date our trumpet player) filmed the performance.  It looks like there was a second tuba player there that day; as I recall, I invited a guy who was a year or two ahead of me in high school to sit in with us for the concert.

My younger brother (the trombonist) whistles the iconic solo from our rendition of “Stars and Stripes Forever,” John Philip Sousa’s most famous march.  It’s a memorable solo!

Enjoy!

Happy Independence Day, and Happy Birthday America!

—TPP