Big Band Festival in Bonn

This weekend you can catch some of that "Big Band" sound at the Museums Mile on Bonn. The Big Band Festival kicks off on Friday 4th June and finishes on Saturday 5th June. After the success of last year's event the city of Bonn is running the competition again in 2010 and the line-up is looking good: from 3.30pm on Friday school bands from around the region will be showing what they can do and then at 4.30 Brassrock will take to the stage - the big-band from the Bonn/Bad Godesberg Gesamptschule - with some Blues and Rock classics. The Phoenix Foundation are on from 6pm, a youth jazz orchestra from the Rheinland-Pfalz - they'll be blowing the audience away with 20's jazz classics from the likes of Count Basie and lots more. Friday's highlight will be The Big Band de Canarias (from Tenerife) who'll be appearing at 7.30pm. They'll be mixing a classic Big Band sound with Spanish temperament and playing big band highlights from Jim McNeely, Bob Brookmeyer and Gordon Goodwin. Saturday's programme kicks off at 3pm with the Green-Horns Big band from the Clara-Schumann-Musikschule Düsseldorf. The winner of Bonn's 2007 Orchestra competition will be wowing the crowds with some Latin, Funk and Swing classics. Other highlights will be the Bonn Music School's Big Band at 4pm, The Budafok Big Band from Hungary at 5pm, The European Movement Jazz Orchestra from Portugal,Slovenia and Germany at 6pm, and last but not least, the Dietrich Koch Big Band from Berlin at 7.30pm. For some big sounds in Bonn - for free - pay a visit to the Heussealle and be prepared to be blown away.

Bundes Big Band Festival Bonn
www.bundesbigbandfestival.de