The Long Whit Friday 2023: Look Ma, No Trains

The Greatest Free Show on Earth – in the midst of a rail strike

In my 43 years on this planet, I had more than anything looked forward to this year’s Whit Friday. Firstly, with everything back to post-COVID normality, it augured well for The Other Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Secondly, the warm weather was favourable enough for watching the bands. Thirdly, the contest we set our hearts on was one I last went to in 1989, when I stayed over with my late nana.

Yet Whit Friday 2023 was anything but A Normal Whit Friday. No Whit Friday is ever the same as another one, though this year’s local counter attractions and curveballs included Coldplay and Elton John concerts and an ASLEF rail strike.

Boarshurst Silver Band: Sunday Brass at the Boarshurst Band Club (28 May 2023)

Dazzling display opens Whit Week in great style

Whitsuntide can feel like Christmas in Saddleworth. Firstly, there’s the buzz leading up to the big day which is Whit Friday. Secondly, to the casual onlooker at a Whit Friday Band Contest or the Whit Walks, there’s an element of surprise in each band’s road march and contest march of choice.

Trimdon Brass: Sunday Brass at the Boarshurst Band Club (21 May 2023)

First rate performance with enjoyable programme

With only twelve days to go till Whit Friday, Trimdon Brass gave us all an enjoyable concert that got us in the mood for The Greatest Free Show on Earth. It was a most entertaining programme with a nice variety of popular music and concert classics. Like last year’s concert, there was four fabulous solo performances. 

Mossley Band: Sunday Brass at the Boarshurst Band Club (14 May 2023)

Byers and Co dazzle in most impressive concert

There is one thing you can be sure about with Mossley Band. They are a band that never do half measures. This is understandable as the competition is intense, whether vying for Best Open on Whit Friday, or rich pickings on the concert circuit. With the Saddleworth villages being a short drive or walk away, there is competition for players.

Sale Brass: Sunday Brass at the Boarshurst Band Club, 07 May 2023

A most enjoyable concert for the Coronation Bank Holiday weekend

In the space of 31 hours, Boarshurst Band Club moved from Hail To The King to Hail To The Sale with a most enjoyable concert. For the second Bank Holiday Weekend in a row, its live and streamed audience were treated to a concert that was high on entertainment, and easy going on the technical side.

Thornton-Cleveleys Brass Band, 30 April 2023: Sunday Brass at the Boarshurst Band Club

Lively concert with enjoyable programme makes for box office hit with audience

It is fair to say that lying in the shadows of Britain’s most popular seaside resort means having to go the extra mile to entertain your paying public. That applies to anybody or any group that sets up home on the Fylde peninsula, from speciality acts to comedians and brass banding types.

Blackpool has a proud tradition of brass banding. The Winter Gardens and Opera House host the British Open Spring Festival and the North West Regional Finals of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain. There are numerous brass bands on the Fylde peninsula, and the best known one by far is Thornton-Cleveleys.

Elland Silver Band: Sunday Brass at the Boarshurst Band Club (23 April 2023)

Outstanding concert with great entertainment value and excellent solos

1995 was a pivotal moment in football history and brass banding history. Firstly, a certain ex-Liverpool player said you couldn’t win anything with kids. Back then, Newcastle United under Kevin Keegan was wowing home fans and neutrals with their swashbuckling play – even with the sale of Andy Cole to Manchester United. In the end, that very Kids Team went on to win a double and more trophies afterwards.

Whitworth Vale and Healey Band: Sunday Brass at the Boarshurst Band Club, 16th April 2023

Superb concert shows Lancashire band on the up

Over the last five years, Whitworth Vale and Healey Band have come up in leaps and bounds with each concert getting more enjoyable as the years have progressed. In recent times, they have gone from being a Third Section band to a high ranking Second Section band.

Dobcross Youth Band: Sunday Brass at the Boarshurst Band Club (02 April 2023)

Europe’s busiest Youth Band inspire in amazing concert

After a marathon month of concerts and contests, Dobcross Youth Band began Holy Week with a stylish concert on Palm Sunday. It was one with a likeable mix of singable tunes, a classic march, and a major work that deserves more recognition beyond Fourth Section and Youth Section bands.

Hazel Grove Brass Band: Sunday Brass at the Boarshurst Band Club, 19 March 2023

Highly entertaining concert with a wealth of lively pieces

Britain ten years ago was a completely different beast to that of 2023. Back then you could buy a copy of the Radio Times, a packet of crisps and a Dairy Milk, and still have change from a fiver. Back then, you could still get a bus to Saddleworth and depend on the trains on Whit Friday.

It was ten years ago when Hazel Grove Brass Band last did a concert at Boarshurst Band Club. On the 19th March 2023, they made up for lost time with a delightful concert. A concert with nineteen (yes, a bumper nineteen) programme items – an enjoyable mix of classic pieces and new additions to the programme.