To the outsider, small towns may seem boring and uneventful. However, we know that is not the case. From festivals to tractor pulls, there are lots of things that bring excitement to small towns. Town bands also bring excitement, and this week we spotlight the Danvers Town Band. President of the band, Andrew Argo, is unsure exactly when the band first started, but they have pictures of a Danvers Band from 1905. Many families have had generations of members in the band. Argo is a fourth-generation member. At the beginning of the 1900s, many little towns had a community band to give entertainment to the people living in each town, according to Argo. The Danvers Town Band began playing on Saturday nights, but changed performances to Sunday nights in the 1990s because it was easier to get members to play in the band. In over a century, the band has only missed two years of performances. These two years were during World War II.

Currently there are 45 members in the band, and about 40 play at concerts. Bill Preller is the conductor and Argo is the President. Both Preller and Argo have held their positions for over 30 years. This is a large number of members for a town band. Anybody can join the band; you don’t have to be from Danvers. Any age is welcome to join. They have members from grade school age to members who have played for 50 years. There is a wide range of talent- members can be just learning music, have advanced music skills, or anywhere in between. Argo explained that there are three rules for band members, which break down to “have fun and play whatever you can!”

The Danvers Town Band will play traditional American March Music, music from musicals, popular music from the 60s and 70s, and more. They have expanded their music base in the last 10 years. They perform on Sunday nights at 7 p.m. in the Danvers Park. There are five concerts a season, which occur every Sunday in July and sometimes the last Sunday in June. There is always a local organization that serves food, ice cream, and pie at about 5:30 p.m. The band plays in the rain or sunshine. There are about 300-400 people that watch their performances every week. The band’s Facebook page is “Danvers Town Band”.