Langholm Town Band goes virtual with Common Riding march

Like all other music groups in the UK, Langholm Town Band has been unable to meet up to rehearse and play in public due to the COVID-19 lockdown. 

The last time Langholm played together, as with most other Scottish bands, was on stage at the regional championships in Perth in March when it qualified to represent Scotland at the national championships at Cheltenham in September. 

Friday (8th May) was due to be the night when Langholmites would elect their Cornet for 2020 and the town band would normally have set off from the town hall at 7pm playing Jeannies Black E’e, one of the Common Riding marches, to the Buccleuch Centre where the crucial voting would take place. 

But neither the town nor the band were to be beaten. Langholm secretary Christine Calvert suggested that a social distancing video could be recorded of playing Jeannie’s Black E'e and launching the recording on the Friday at 7pm as it would have happened in normal times. To date since the launch, the video has been viewed over 6000 times.

Musical director Chris Shanks and cornet player Josh Calvert worked on pulling the individual tracks and videos together over the last few days. It has been a project which has been in the planning for around four weeks.

“Unfortunately some of the band members were unable to take part due to work commitments as we have key workers in our ranks,” said Christine. “Some of the band members have had a few laughs and several takes while recording their part but all have enjoyed the experience.

“So much so that there will be a further release in a week or so. Keep watching our Facebook page, website (www.langholmtownband.com) and Youtube channel.”

The Langholm Town Band performance of Jeannie’s Black E’e can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbZPfxeWotM