The Austin Brass Band performs Monday evening at TCMF

Austin — The final week of the Seventh Annual Texas Community Music Festival provided music, mirth and mayhem on the deck at Central Market.

The evening began with an inspired performance by the San Gabriel Horns, who delighted the audience with a beautifully executed program of French Horn trio selections.

The Austin Brass Band made its second appearance of the festival; one of the handful of ensembles which have performed in all seven TCMFs.

And then, as advertised, the evening concluded with a return engagement by the Dead Music Capital (DMC) Band.  The zombie-themed “HONK” band paraded, honked and entertained another large weeknight audience.

The festival continues Tuesday night at 6:30 with the Blue Diamonds and continues Wednesday at the Farmer’s Market at The Triangle with the Austin Polka Band before the curtain comes down on the 2012 TCMF Thursday at 8pm with the year’s first performance by the Wurst Band.

The Texas Community Music Festival is presented by Central Market and the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble and sponsored by H-E-B and Strait Music Company.

Check the schedule page for times and performers for the remainder of the 2012 Texas Community Music Festival.

Festival Hosts, the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble, took music lovers to the CIRCUS on Sunday!

Austin —  Another gorgeous day of music and entertainment at the Texas Community Festival!  With five days to go, TCMF is well on the way to having its greatest weather year ever.  Already, it’s been the best musical year ever, as the roster keeps growing in diversity, skill and showmanship.

Sunday was no exception, as TCMF opened with longtime festival veterans, the Silver Thistle Pipes and Drums, who kicked off the second Sunday at Central Market with traditional (and untraditional) Scottish bagpipe music and precision drumming.

Then festival goers were treated to four big bands in a row:  Republic of Texas Big Band, ACC Stage Ensemble, Lone Star Swing Syndicate and NAJO, all four of which had performed at TCMF in the past and had the audience singing, swinging and dancing.

As the evening hours closed in, TCMF was treated a wonderful performance by the Austin Symphonic Band, making its first appearance in TCMF,  followed by Band of the Hills, which put more than 70 on the stage for its appearance.

The evening culminated with the second appearance by festival hosts, the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble, which delighted the audience with a program of circus-themed music.

TCMF continues Monday at 5:30, with the San Gabriel Horns, followed by the Austin Brass Band and finally a repeat performance by the popular Dead Music Capital (DMC) band of fun lovin’ zombies!

Check the schedule page for times and performers for the remainder of the 2012 Texas Community Music Festival.

Texas Community Festival is hosted by the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble and Central Market and sponsored by H-E-B and Strait Music Company.

Charanga Cakewalk headlines the second Saturday night of TCMF 2012

Austin — The Seventh Annual Texas Community Music Festival resumed Saturday with a program as diverse as Austin itself.

Another packed house spent the afternoon and evening amid sunny skies and pleasant temperatures and heard some old favorites and newcomers to the TCMF.

The day began with NUMBERS, a Dixieland ensemble composed of Math teachers from Austin Community College.  After them came the fourth annual a[[earance by the Hill Country Community Band of Marble Falls, followed by a most unusual and entertaining set by Trombonium Sinfonium, a low brass ensemble from Greenville, TX.

A VERY special performance was presented on the cafe deck by Nick and Amber, a young brother and sister act who blew the crowd away with their renditions of traditional swing tunes.

The audience got funky with Rhythm Congress, making its sixth straight appearance in TCMF, with horn section that grew to seven before the set had ended.

Dr. Tom Husak and the ACC Jazz Ensemble followed, and the evening was closed by The Skylarks and Charanga Cakewalk,  who got everybody dancing and jumping!

TCMF continues on Sunday with a terrific lineup of big band jazz ensembles followed by three of Austin’s most prolific concert bands; Austin Symphonic Band, Band of the Hills and the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble.

Check the schedule page for times and performers for all future dates.

Texas Community Festival is hosted by the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble and Central Market and sponsored by H-E-B and Strait Music Company.

Vincent R. DeNino conducts the Longhorn Alumni Band at The Triangle

Austin — The Texas Community Music Festival shifted to the Farmer’s Market at The Triangle Wednesday night and entertained an enthusiastic crowd of marketgoers and music lovers!

The evening began with a performance by longtime TCMF act the Austin Polka Band and closed with an encore performance of the Chaparral Dixielanders, who played with a record number of musicians to the delight of patrons and vendors alike.

In between, TCMF was graced by a short performance by elements of the University of Texas Longhorn Alumni Band (not all 3,700 members, but a few!), who played some of our all-time UT favorites, including March Grandioso, Wabash Cannonball and of course, The Eyes of Texas and Texas Fight!  Highlight of the performance were the two conductors emeritus who conducted the band, Moton Crockett, who conducted the band from 1950-55 and the legendary Vincent R. DiNino, who took the baton in 1955 and conducted the Longhorn Marching Band for the next 20 years.

TCMF returns to Central Market Saturday morning at 11:30.

Please consult the schedule page for details on performers, locations and performance times.

The Texas Community Music Festival is sponsored by H-E-B and Strait Music Company, and is hosted by Central Market and the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble.

The Chalumeau Clarinet Quartet kicked off the evening with a delightful and varied set of classical and popular repertoire, followed by the Hill Country Community Band of Wimberley, one of the few bands to appear in all seven Texas Community Music Festivals, and one of TWO Hill Country Community Bands appearing in this year’s TCMF.  The other HCCB hails from Marble Falls and will perform this weekend when the festival returns to the patio at Central Market.

The evening was topped off by the first ever TCMF appearance by the Dead Music Capital (DMC) Band, a newcomer to the Austin HONK band scene. “Proving that the party doesn’t have to end just because life does, DMCB takes their cadaverous cacophony to the streets whenever possible.”  DMC, dressed as zombies, replete with scary makeup and bizarre costume, kept the Central Market audience delighted and excited with special renditions of the Circus March, Auld Lang Syne, and a few others that sort of sounded like other things.  The band will appear again Monday, April 30, during the festival’s second week.

TCMF shifts to the Farmer’s Market at the Triangle Wednesday evening, beginning at 6pm with the Austin Polka Band and the Longhorn Alumni Band, followed by a traditional jazz performance by the Chaparral Dixielanders.

The festival returns to Central Market Saturday.  Please consult the schedule page for details on performers, locations and performance times.

The Texas Community Music Festival is sponsored by H-E-B and Strait Music Company, and is hosted by Central Market and the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble.

Miss Lisa Clark performs Monday with the Austin Jazz Band

Austin — The Seventh Annual Texas Community Music Festival continued Monday night at Central Market with performances by the Trilogy Clarinet Trio from Marble Falls and an extended set by the Austin Jazz Band.

An appreciative crowd built throughout the evening, enjoying cool temperatures and even cooler musical performances, highlighted by the singing of Miss Lisa Clark, one of the handful of performers who have appeared at all seven TCMFs.

The festival continues Tuesday evening at 5:30 with the Chalumeau Clarinet Quartet, followed at 6:45 by the Hill Country Community Band of Wimberley.  At 8pm, TCMF takes a turn to the darkside, with the first of two performances by the Dead Music Capital (DMC) Band, complete with costume, makeup and LOTS of drums!

For more information on Tuesday’s performances as well as the remainder of the 2012 TCMF, please go to the schedule page of this site.

The Seventh Annual Texas Community Music Festival is hosted by the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble and Central Market and sponsored by H-E-B and Strait Music Company.

The Vintage 15 perform big band jazz and swing on Day 2 of the 2012 Texas Community Music Festival.

Austin — The Seventh Annual Texas Community Music Festival continued Sunday to large audiences, who saw a variable cornucopia of musical styles, including performances from a number of TCMF rookies!

The program kicked off with the Austin Brass Band, a group that’s performed at all seven festivals, and continued with the folk-bluegrass sounds of Lohman’s Crossing, one of the TCMF first-time performers.  The Pecan Street Brass Quintet followed with a skilled program of classical and popular literature, including an amazing rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

The crowd, including a number of music lovers who’d traveled from as far away as Houston, were then treated to another first-time participant, Vintage 15, who blew the audience away with their tight jazz, swing and big band program.  The ACC Jazz club sextet followed, after which more “newbies” took the stage:  The Inside Out Steelband created a wall of sound that came straight from the Caribbean and then Bamako Airlines kept the groove going with their African-Pop set, including songs in various African languages and dialects.

The evening culminated with the Austin Jazz Orchestra, making its second appearance at TCMF.

The festival continues Monday at 5:30 at Central Market and continues through Thursday May 3.  Check the schedule page for details on performance times and performers.

TCMF is hosted by Central Market and the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble and sponsored by H-E-B and Strait Music Company.

Mother Falcon headlines Day 1 of the Seventh Annual TCMF

Austin — The Seventh Annual Texas Community Music Festival opened Saturday at Central Market with outstanding performances and delighted music lovers of all ages.

For the second year in the row, TCMF’s first headliner was the incredibly talented Mother Falcon, who played into the night for an overflow crowd; possibly the largest single performance attendance in TCMF history.

The festival was kicked off by TCMF host band, the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble, which brought its largest contingent to Central Market, upwards of 70 musicians!   Following ACWE, the Chaparral Dixielanders got the audience dancing and the swinging continued with the Austin Banjo Club.

The Austin Jazz Workshop, a perennial TCMF favorite, presented its 2011-2012 jazz program, the music of Miles Davis.  The program continued with a beautiful acoustic / vocal set by John Wilson and Friends and a jumping set of Parisian-style Gypsy Jazz from Hot Club Soda.

A special highlight of the first day’s activities was provided by singer-songwriter Debra Jo Johnson, who performed throughout the day on the Cafe deck. Debra became the farthest-travelled performer in TCMF history, driving in from Frankston, in deep East Texas to participate in the festival.

TCMF continues Sunday at 11am with the Austin Brass Band and continues throughout the day at Central Market North, with shows Monday and Tuesday evening, also at Central Market North.  The program shifts on Wednesday to the Park at the Triangle before returning to Central Market Saturday, April 28.  Consult the schedule for a full listing of performances and performers.

The Texas Community Music Festival is presented by Strait Music Company and HEB, and hosted by Central Market and the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble.

Follow the action throughout the festival on Twitter @TCMFestival … or just check here on our website for updates, photos, videos and more!  Make plans to spend the next two weeks enjoying the best our community (and others) has to offer!

Remember, if you’re a performer, PLEASE check the player’s page for information about parking, setup and other TCMF details.

And awayyyy we go!

So here are a few events we’ll throw out for discussion:

1) Scottish rock fusion band “the Killdares” become the only band rained out in TCMF history;

2) Austin Banjo Club played through a thunderstorm of biblical proportion at Scholz Garten

3) High winds pick up a table umbrella and drop it on songbird Lisa Clark and her mom.

4) Festival founder Herb Holland gets too “thrilled at the grill” and barfs in his sax during a performance of the New Austin Polka Band

5) Austin Brass Band conductor Robert Laguna plays a number on a garden hose, using his bottom as a “sounding board.”

Surely there have been quirkier moments over the past six years.   How many of you were arou d for any of the events listed ?

Weigh in..   This years festival could very well rewrite the record book for diversity and eclecticity.