About the Barnstable Town Band
Town Bands have been a popular source of entertainment and a throwback to an American tradition for many years in many of the towns on the Cape. We in Barnstable are fortunate that right down the street in Hyannis, our residents can take advantage of free weekly Town Band concerts on the Hyannis Village Green during the Summer months.
The Barnstable Town Band is the second oldest continuously performing community town band on the Cape, after Chatham, but there is a bit of debate about when the band started. The “Barnstable Band” was started in 1953, but it traces its foundation to an incarnation of the “Osterville Band” in 1950. It has been a private not-for-profit entity, now exclusively supported by the Town of Barnstable under the auspices of ArtsBarnstable, hence its moniker in common use today, “Barnstable Town Band”. So if you take a look at the band’s bass drum and see a “Barnstable Band” formal graphic on its face, this will explain that seeming discrepancy.
The band today is directed by Patrick Riley, a former music instructor in the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District who is now the Principal of the Ezra H. Baker Innovation School in West Dennis. “Pat” oversees a wide range of band members from High School age to Cape residents in their later senior years, amateurs and professionals alike. Some of those senior members may not have played their instruments in almost 40 years since graduating from school! But utilizing that broad range of backgrounds and talents from all over the Cape, Pat is able to bring everyone together to perform an assortment of Patriotic tunes, Marches, Showtunes, Swing, Latin, and other popular concert pieces. That is one of the really great things about the band…..anyone who plays an instrument can join and be provided an opportunity to perform and provide enjoyment to an audience. It’s almost like having our own local “Boston Pops” in our backyard!
And speaking about audiences, everyone, both residents and visitors/tourists, are invited to attend FREE weekly Wednesday evening band concerts at 7pm during July and August. The Concerts on the Green series provides an opportunity for you to pull up a lawn chair or blanket on the Hyannis Village Green, along with a picnic or just some snacks, and enjoy an evening of music in the old Americana style of an outdoor Bandstand Concert. The first concert of the season will be on July 2, and will contain a good number of Patriotic pieces, given the date’s proximity to the July 4th holiday. We’ll be looking forward to seeing you
