Kettle Bridge Concertinas
Concertina group based in Maidstone, Kent, UK
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CALARA Concert - Fri 7th February 2025
Backstage, waiting for the off!
Report
With an expectant and substantial audience we bravely took to the stage at Coxheath Village Hall. We were there to entertain members of CALARA — the Coxheath & Loose Active Retirement Association.
Seventeen KBC members were playing and all the parts to all the tunes were covered - treble 1, 2, 3; baritone and bass, not forgetting Margaret on the drum. Our first piece was Purcell’s Trumpet Tune, a rousing piece to announce to the audience that we had arrived! Sue then gave a brief talk about the history of the concertina and how the Kettle Bridge Concertina band had evolved.
We played for about 45 minutes and our set included a couple of tunes especially composed for a concertina band by Claire Wren (Drunken Sailor and Black Velvet Band) and which we were playing for the first time in public. We concluded by playing Oom-Pah-Pah, a perennial favourite and a great sing-a-long song.
Afterwards we enjoyed refreshments and chatting to many CALARA members. Some were interested to know more about the concertina and maybe we’ll have some new recruits! Our performance came during the week of World Concertina Day and we most definitely marked the occasion in style!