Here’s what you need to know to attend: The free show will be at 7:30 p.m. Aug 22. The Fraze is at 695 Lincoln Park Blvd., Kettering. You won’t need tickets. It’s free.
Just show up and enjoy.
The Band of Flight, stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, has been usually a 17-musician organization when fully staffed. It features a pair of musical component groups or ensembles — Flight One is the popular-music/rock band while Spirit of Freedom is a brass ensemble with a percussionist and vocalist.
Both ensembles will join forces on the stage Aug. 22, Richter said. He expects about 12 musicians to perform that evening
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
“They can kind of flex between a rock band with horns to a horn band with a rhythm section,” he said. “It depends on which group is taking the lead on that song.”
The musicians are consummate professionals, with backgrounds gigging or attending music school or both. Many of them cut their musical teeth in cruise ship groups or in a variety of other musical situations, but they all have put in the hours learning their craft, Richter said.
Like other Airmen, the musicians often deploy to assignments.
“This is a special way they can serve their country and do what they love,” Richter said. “You can’t beat it.”
A special moment at the show will be reserved for veterans, when the band performs theme songs for other military branches. “We will invite veterans to stand when their song is played, so that all in the audience, and we in the band, can thank them for their service.”
The band typically performs more than 250 times annually, the base has said, for events as varied as official military change-of-command ceremonies to warming up crowds at the CenterPoint Energy Dayton Air Show.
About the Author
