Seven Scottish bands are off for a day at the seaside!

Seven Scottish bands will be heading down the M6 motorway to the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool this week to take part in the annual Spring Festival Brass Band Championships on Saturday.

Competing in the Grand Shield, the qualifying contest for the 2023 British Open, will be Dalmellington Band (under the musical direction of Erik Janssen) and Whitburn (Prof Nicholas Childs), hot on the heels of their return from Malmö, Sweden, after coming 10th in the European Championships.

The 20 bands in this section will be playing The World Rejoicing by Edward Gregson.

In the Senior Cup, which is the qualifying contest for the 2024 Grand Shield, Kingdom Brass (Thomas Wyss), The Kirkintilloch Band (Hedley Benson) and Newtongrange (Anne Crookston) will be among 20 bands performing A London Overture by Philip Sparke.

There are 21 bands in the Senior Trophy which is the qualifying contest for the 2024 Senior Cup. Here Bo’ness & Carriden (Charlie Farren) and Unison Kinneil (Raymond Tennant) will be competing with the set test piece The Accursed Huntsman (Le Chasseur Maudit) by Cesar Frank, arr Edrich Siebert.

The bottom four bands in the Grand Shield will be relegated to the Senior Cup and replaced by the top four from the Senior Cup. The same applies between the Senior Cup and Senior Trophy.

The three separate contests will run concurrently in the Winter Gardens in Blackpool throughout Saturday and one ticket provides access to all competitions. You can book your tickets in advance here.

Best wishes and good luck to the Scottish contingent!

FOOTNOTE: Whitburn Band will be joined by Bo’ness & Carriden in an open rehearsal of their respective test pieces in the band hall in Murraysgate Industrial Estate, Whitburn, this evening (Wednesday), starting at 7.30pm.