Six of the best in quest to snare Spring Festival silverware

Half a dozen of Scotland’s top bands will be carrying the hopes and good wishes of the country’s brass community as they head south later this week to compete in the 103rd British Open Spring Festival at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool on Saturday.

Eager to snare some silverware will be the Dalmellington, Kingdom Brass, Kirkintilloch and Newtongrange Silver bands in the Senior Cup qualification event for the 2026 Grand Shield and Dalkeith & Monktonhall and Unite Scotland Kinneil in the Senior Trophy.

There will be 20 bands competing in the Senior Cup on the set test piece Terra Australis (Martin Ellerby) and 20 in the Senior Trophy, playing Fantasy for Brass Band (Malcolm Arnold).

The top four bands in the Senior Cup will be promoted to the Grand Shield, replacing the same number of relegated bands. Likewise in the Senior Trophy where the top four bans will be promoted to the Senior Cup.

The top-tier Grand Shield will be contested by 20 bands playing Dances and Arias by Edward Gregson.

The adjudicating team for the day will comprise Lt Col David Barringer, Morgan Griffiths, Alan Morrison, Lt Col Lauren Petritz-Watts, Andrea Price and Helen Varley.

This will be the last year the Spring Festival is held in Blackpool. Plans have been announced to move the event to Birmingham next year, spreading the three contests over two days and two venues.

The full line-up of participating bands is:

Grand Shield
Amersham (Paul Fisher)
Ashton-under-Lyne (Paul Lovatt-Cooper)
Camborne Town (Lee Skipsey)
City of Bradford (Dean Jones)
Desford Colliery (Ian Porthouse)
EverReady (Stephen Roberts)
Fishburn (Duncan Beckley)
Friary Brass (Nigel Taken)
GUS Band (Dr David Thornton)
Hepworth (Ryan Watkins)
NASUWT Riverside (Prof Nicholas Childs)
Northop (Ryan Richards)
Rainford (Sarah Groarke Booth)
Redbridge (Chris Bearman)
Rothwell Temperance (David Roberts)
Skelmanthorpe (Gareth Brindle)
St Dennis Silver (Darren Hawken)
Stannington Brass (Sam Fisher)
Wantage (Chris King)
Wingates (Matt Ryan)

Senior Cup
City of Cardiff (Melingriffith) (Christopher Bond)
City of Hull (Daniel Brooks)
Dalmellington (Andrew Duncan)
Derwent Brass (Jack Capstaff)
Ebbw Valley Brass (Matthew Rowe)
Elland Silver (Ben Dixon)
Haverhill Silver (Paul Filby)
Kingdom Brass (Alistair Gibson)
Kirkintilloch (Hedley Benson)
Marsden Silver (Leigh Baker)
Milnrow (Christopher Binns)
Newtongrange Silver (Anne Crookston)
Pemberton Old Wigan DW (Thomas Wyss)
Ratby Co-operative (Ian McElligott)
Shepherd Brass (Richard Wilton)
Thundersley Brass (Melvin White)
Tongwynlais Temperance (Owen Farr)
Tylorstown (Robert Westacott)
Unite the Union (Jonathan Beatty)
Verwood Concert (Kevin Smith)

Senior Trophy
Blackburn & Darwen (Daniel Thomas)
Boarshurst Silver (Jamie Prophet)
Brass Band of Central England (Stephen Cooper)
Brunel Brass (Daniel Hall)
Dalkeith & Monktonhall (James Chamberlain)
Easington Colliery (Graeme Tindall)
East London Brass (Jayne Murrill)
Eccles Borough (Mareika Gray)
Enderby (Mike Fowles)
Goodwick (Stephen Sykes)
Longridge (Mark Peacock)
Newstead (Martin Heartfield)
Parc & Dare (Dewi Griffiths)
Pontardulais Town (Paul Jenkins)
Roberts Bakery (Mike Jones)
Roche Brass (Matthew Green)
Tyldesley (Neil Samuel)
Unite Scotland Kinneil (Allan Ramsay)
Woodfalls (Joshua Ruck)
Yorkshire Imperial (Steve Malcolm)