Presenting...the Gustine City Band!

Gustine City Band was established in Gustine, Merced County, California, around 1915 in the tradition of hometown municipal marching/concert bands. Its active members, ranging in age from their teens to their seventies, perform in a variety of annual cultural celebrations, primarily Portuguese festas and civilian parades and county fairs, throughout the San Joaquin Valley and California's Central Coast.

"I've never been anywhere more magical or more exotic than Gustine—or Hanford or Stevinson or Crows Landing—when the Portuguese are throwing a party."
May/June 2003 VIA magazine

Our repertoire consists of some 65 marches including the bombastic military marches of John Philip Sousa and the furioso circus marches of Karl King and Henry Fillmore.

2003 Schedule of Events

Please check back throughout the season for the up-to-the-minute schedule. By popular demand, there are now some photos available for viewing.

Date	Location/Venue	Est. Start Time
May 18	Buhach	9:00 AM
May 25	South San Francisco (last year Santa Maria)	8:30 AM
June 1	Crows Landing Pentecost	9:30 AM
June 8	Newman F.D.E.S.	9:00 AM
June 15	Turlock Pentecost	8:30 AM
June 22	Mission San Jose (Fremont) (last year Stevinson)	9:00 AM
June 29	Manteca / Ripon Pentecost	9:00 AM
July 4 Friday	Gustine - 4th of July	9:30 AM
July 6	Santa Cruz	9:30 AM
July 20	Gustine Pentecost Society (GPS)	9:00 AM
July 27 Sunday	Stanislaus County Fair - Turlock	arrive 3:30, play 4 PM to 7 PM
August 3	San Jose Convention @ Hyatt Hotel, 1740 N. 1st St., San Jose [map] Dinner following at Alliance Jorgense, 198 N. 27th St., San Jose (one block from Five Wounds Portuguese National Church [map])	9:30 AM
August 17	Pismo Beach - Saint Anthony	10:00 AM
September 13 & 14	Gustine - Our Lady of Miracles	7:30 PM Sat. / 9:00 AM Sun.
October 25 (tentative)	Annual BBQ for members and families	TBD

We're Recruiting!!

Have you always wanted to pursue instrumental music performance but never found the right venue? Our group is fun-loving, casual but professional, committed to a demanding repertoire, and willing to try a new gig if it's fun (or pays well, either in cash or food and drink)!

Do you think you have what it takes to be a member of the Gustine City Band? We're always looking for a few good recruits (especially woodwind and brass) who are interested in playing a march repertoire in real-life street parades or on a bandstand in the park. Send me a note to find out about our screening process, or "Come Join the Band" at one of our performances and see for yourself.