ABOVE: The Fairmont City Band rehearses ahead of its first performance of the year Tuesday evening at the Sylvania Park Bandshell. This season marks the 150th year of the city band.

FAIRMONT– The Fairmont City Band returned to the Sylvania Park Bandshell for its first performance of the summer on Tuesday evening. This year, the organization is celebrating the 150th year of its existence. The Fairmont City Band was first organized in 1873.

“It pretty much played almost all of those 150 years except for World War II and of course Covid and then a few years here and there that it missed. But it started 150 years ago,” said Bev Tenney, one of the band’s current directors.

At the start, the band played at a number of different locations around town and also traveled to play elsewhere. Then in 1925 the city of Fairmont purchased plans for the bandshell and the city band started playing there in 1926 and has been playing there ever since.

The bandshell itself is nearly 100 years old and the Fairmont City Council has budgeted funds for some much-needed repairs and updates to the historic structure, which will be done later this year.

“A lot of smaller towns don’t have their own bands anymore or they never had one. A lot of towns don’t have beautiful bandshells, either,” Tenney said.

While a large number of the members are from Fairmont, people also come from around Martin County and beyond to play. Tenney said they have people from Windom and Iowa who come to play on a regular basis.

Anybody who is through 10th grade and older can play in the band. Tenney said they have a handful of returning younger people.

“Usually once they try it they come back,” she said.

However, there’s a larger number of seasoned veterans who return year after year to play in the city band. Tenney has been playing in the city band for about 25 years and has been directing since 2000.

Typically, the band has about 45 people play in each concert.

“It’s a good number. We’re pretty well balanced,” Tenney said.

Dennis Peterson of Sherburn is returning to the city band for his 52nd year this year. He originally started because his father, Paul, played in the band.

“He started back in 1951 when Dick Scherer came back and started the band up again,” Peterson said.

While the band started playing in 1873, it broke up for a time in 1945 as a result of war and many of its members being in the military. Then, in 1951, under the leadership of Dick Scherer, the band was reorganized.

As a child, Peterson went and watched his father play. When he got older he started playing himself. He plays the baritone.

“It gives me an opportunity to play,” Peterson said, adding that he also plays in the Trimont Centennial Band.

Jennifer Tow is another long-time city band member. She started playing as a high school student in 1970 and while she missed a few years due to living out of town, she’s been a consistent player for many years.

As for why she started playing, Tow said she was expected to because her father, Dick Scherer, was the band director for both Fairmont High School and Fairmont City Band.

“I’d go to the concerts as a little kid and started playing when I got old enough. It was something that I liked to do,” Tow said.

She plays both the flute and the piccolo and has also served as director in the past. Mostly though, she plays.

“It’s nice for the musicians in the community, especially those who want to play recreationally in the summer without any pressure. It’s also nice for the people to be able to come and listen. It’s a historic tradition. I think it’s real special,” Tow said.

The band tries to play an assortment of songs every year which includes anything from overtures and show tunes to patriotic music and pop music.

“We’re doing some Beatles and 50s music this year. It’s a nice assortment of music. There’s something for everyone,” Tenney said.

She noted that the variety of music is both for the pleasure of the players and the audience. The city band draws a healthy crowd and Tenney said it seems to grow over the course of the summer.

“People bring their own chairs or sit on the benches and just enjoy the evening,” Tenney said.

The band will put on five concerts over the course of the summer, each on Tuesday night. It will perform on June 20, June 27, July 4 and July 11.

“We’re still going to hold our concert on July 4th even with the fireworks change,” Tenney said.

The Fairmont Fire Department has announced that this year it will put on its annual fireworks display on July 1, which is the Saturday before the holiday.

“We debated changing but we didn’t know if we’d lose members because they had weekend plans on the 1st. Also, what’s going on the 4th of July night then? We’re going to stick with the 4th of July,” Tenney said.

Practice starts each night at 6 p.m. with an 8 p.m. performance time. In the case of inclement weather, the performance will be canceled and will be announced ahead of time on the local radio.

“It’s a fun group. We play fun music and the audience loves it. The bandshell offers a nice atmosphere in the evening with the park and the trees and the lake. It’s very nice to have,” Tenney said.