Minnesota Brass hits the road for regional tour

Fresh off of its exhibition performance Wednesday night in front of a hometown crowd in St. Paul, Minnesota Brass is getting ready to hit the road. This might be an all-ages corps but members are getting a taste of the junior-corps lifestyle this weekend as they head out on a regional tour that takes them to three states in three days.

First up is Friday night’s North Iowa Festival of Brass in Forest City, Iowa. After a three-hour drive from the Twin Cities, the corps will spend the day rehearsing at Forest City High School, the site of the show. This is another DCI Open Class competition, where Minnesota Brass will perform along with the same lineup from Wednesday night in St. Paul – including Blue Devils B, Colt Cadets and Music City.

Saturday morning begins with a rehearsal block in Forest City before the corps makes the six-hour trek to Racine, Wis., for that night’s Kiltie Klassic Invitational. This – finally – will be Minnesota Brass’ first DCA show of the 2014 season, with a lineup that includes Chops Inc., Cincinnati Tradition, the Govenaires and , of course, the Kilties. The Racine show marks Minnesota Brass’ latest seasonal DCA debut since 2006.

Sunday finds the corps back in Minnesota – after an overnight stay in Madison, Wis. — for the city of Red Wing’s River City Days parade. Then it’s back home in the Twin Cities by late Sunday afternoon.

The corps will have traveled about 1,000 miles by the end of the weekend. More importantly, it will have entertained audiences for the first time (Forest City) or for the first time in many years (Red Wing).

“We’re excited to be part of these new shows and perform in front of new fans in Iowa and Minnesota,” said Eric Molho, director of Minnesota Brass. “Plus we’ll get our first read by DCA judges in Racine. We’re looking forward to a fantastic, but busy, weekend.”