Bendigo and District Concert Band

🎺 WARNING: Highly Addictive Sausages Ahead 🎺
🔥 Sausage Sizzle Tomorrow! 🔥

The Bendigo & District Concert Band is swapping instruments for tongs tomorrow at Kangaroo Flat Bunnings — Sunday 7th June, 9am–4pm — and things are about to get deliciously out of tune.

Rumour has it:

* Perfect‑pitch snags that never miss a note

* Finely orchestrated onions

* BBQ smoke that may or may not resemble a brass section after rehearsal

Swing by, grab a snag, support your local musos, and say hi to the crew. Whether you’re grabbing weekend supplies or just passing through, we’ll have the BBQ sizzling all day to help keep Bendigo sounding brilliant.

Been thinking about joining the band?
Got an instrument gathering dust?

Come have a chat with the team — we love welcoming new players and returning musos alike.

We’ll be sizzling, smiling, and doing our best to resist performing a full concert in the car park… probably.

🌭🎶 See you there — bring your appetite

Huge congratulations to Bryan Brewer, who has been awarded this year’s Outstanding Service and Contribution to Banding Award by the Bendigo and District Bands' Group.

Bryan is a true stalwart of both the Bendigo and District Concert Band, Eaglehawk Citizens' Brass Band and Evergreen Brass Band — a living piece of local banding history.

At 93 years young, he’s still out there lugging around a tuba like it’s nothing more than a handbag, and holding court in the back row peanut gallery, where the commentary is always colourful and the jokes are older than some of our instruments.

This award recognises decades of dedication, musicianship, mentorship, and community spirit. Bryan has shaped generations of players, supported countless performances, and brought heart (and humour) to every ensemble he’s been part of.

Here’s to Bryan — a legend of our banding community, and an inspiration to anyone who’s ever picked up an instrument.

What an incredible day at the Bendigo Competitions — we won our section!

It truly felt like the best we’ve played in years at a competition, and hearing that it was enjoyed from the adjudicator - Dr. Matthew van Emmerik - made it even sweeter.

A huge thank‑you to Renee, our amazing MD, for pulling this program together in such a short time. Her direction, energy, and ability to bring the best out of us made all the difference on stage.

We had an absolute blast performing:
🎶 Music in a Darkened Theater
🎶 Loch Lomond
🎶 Radetzky March

Everyone genuinely enjoyed playing today, and that joy came through in every note.

A big thank‑you to the organisers and volunteers of the Bendigo Competitions Society for the smooth running of the day — events like this only work because of the people behind the scenes making everything flow.

And congratulations to all the other bands who performed; it was fantastic to share the stage with so much talent.

And hey — if you’ve been thinking about joining a band or dusting off that instrument that’s been hiding in the cupboard for a few years… now is the time. We’d love to have you making music with us.

What a result. What a day. What a band.

The warm‑up room at the Bendigo Competitions: where scales are questionable, tuning is “close enough”, and everyone suddenly becomes a professional multitasker — assembling instruments, finding reeds, and panicking quietly on the inside.

These photos capture:
🎺 Trumpet enthusiasm levels so high you’d think we were about to headline a world tour
🎷 Woodwinds negotiating with their instruments like hostage situations
🥁 Percussionists relaxing as if they’re on holiday, not minutes from stage
🎶 And the collective moment we all realised the room temperature vs stage temperature is about to play absolute havoc with our tuning

If you’ve ever wondered what happens before a concert band walks on stage… this is it. Pure, unfiltered, pre‑performance chaos.

Bendigo Comps: come for the music, stay for the behind‑the‑scenes comedy.

Today we pause to honour the courage, service, and sacrifice of the men and women who have worn our nation’s uniform.

Bendigo & District Concert Band pays tribute to those who serve today, and to those who made the supreme sacrifice so that we may live in peace.

Lest we forget.

What a fantastic day out at Solterra & Vine for the Maiden Gully Progress Association Autumn Festival. Perfect weather, a stunning view, and an enthusiastic crowd made it such a joy to perform.

We’re so grateful to the organisers and the team at Solterra & Vine for creating such a welcoming atmosphere — hopefully everyone enjoyed the day as much as we did.

A huge shoutout to Renee for conducting her first gig as acting MD; she led us beautifully. And big congratulations to our Soul Bossa Nova soloists — Kerrie, Graeme & Jacoby — who absolutely shone.
Feeling proud of the whole group and excited for what’s next.

Can you guess the songs that we may be performing at the Maiden Gully Autumn Festival ?

We’ve put together a little trivia challenge — see how many you can figure out before the big day. Some are classics, some are cinematic, and some are modern favourites.
Comment your guesses and tag a friend to test their music knowledge too and then come along and listen to find out if you were right!

This song has been covered by more than 300 artists and famously featured in Shrek.

What movie soundtrack features a fiery‑haired princess who changes her fate?

What is the name of this dance‑inspired classic that invites you to “dance with me”?

This set features music from one of the world’s biggest pop stars, known for eras, Easter eggs, and record‑breaking tours.
What song celebrates the city “that never sleeps”?

This upbeat Quincy Jones tune became widely recognised after being used as the theme for a certain groovy 1990s spy parody.

What musical features songs like “Defying Gravity” and explores the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda?

This dramatic James Bond theme won an Academy Award and was performed by a British singer known for her powerhouse vocals.

Good luck with your guesses🥳