We almost didn’t go.
It had been one of the hottest days of the year and the thought of sitting in a packed concert hall wasn’t especially appealing. But we’d bought our tickets weeks earlier, so off we went.
As we arrived, it already felt like more than just a concert.
Members of both bands were outside chatting in shirt sleeves before the concert. The bar was busy. Children were weaving between groups of people. Friends and neighbours stopped to say hello. We bumped into people we hadn’t expected to see. There was a real buzz about the place.
Inside, every seat seemed to be taken. It was hot. Really hot. We were packed together like sardines, everyone armed with a programme or a paper fan.
Then the music directors walked in, beaming with pride, leading musicians of every age onto the stage. They took their seats section by section before the opening piece began.
And then came the sound.
Kirkbymoorside Town Brass Band and Brighouse & Rastrick opened the evening playing together. The sheer power of both bands combined was extraordinary. It wasn’t just loud. It completely filled the hall. One of those moments where you simply stop thinking about everything else and listen.
The programme moved effortlessly between traditional favourites, jazz and contemporary music. One piece, Cartoon Music, was inspired by Tom and Jerry. You could almost picture the chase unfolding in front of you. Everywhere we looked people were smiling and laughing.
Halfway through the evening the heavens opened.
As the band played España, torrential rain crashed onto the hall’s tin roof, adding an entirely unexpected percussion section. Nobody seemed to mind. If anything, it made the evening even more memorable.
We found ourselves watching the audience almost as much as the band.
We were sitting next to an elderly lady who had struggled to get to her seat as people squeezed past before the concert began. At one point she had her eyes closed, gently swaying to the music with a smile on her face. She seemed completely lost in the music.
The interval raffle produced perhaps the most Yorkshire prize of the evening – a giant lettuce. By the time we were leaving we found ourselves walking behind the lucky winner through the puddles, everyone laughing and congratulating her on her rather unusual prize.
The concert finished with The Dam Busters before an encore of The Floral Dance. If you’re old enough to remember Terry Wogan, you’ll know exactly why the audience loved it. The hall was filled with applause, cheering and people clapping along.
As we drove home, we found ourselves talking less about the music itself and more about what the evening represented.
The Heartbeat of a Community
Kirkbymoorside Town Brass Band has been part of the town for 215 years. That means generations of families have grown up with this band as part of their lives. More than 120 people play across five different bands, from young children taking their first lessons to musicians in their eighties. Around here, almost everyone seems to know someone who has played in the band at some point.
That’s what makes it feel less like a band and more like part of the town itself.
We’ve heard them many times over the years. At Christmas, bringing festive music into the streets. On Armistice Day, leading the town in remembrance. At community celebrations and local events. They don’t simply perform in Kirkbymoorside. They are part of its story.
Communities aren’t built by buildings. They’re built by evenings like this. A hall full to bursting on one of the hottest nights of the year. Music echoing beneath a tin roof. Rain hammering outside. A raffle with a giant lettuce. Friends catching up. Children darting between rows of chairs. An audience laughing, applauding and singing together.
It’s one of the reasons we love living here. We hope our guests come to feel the same.
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