Can you hear the trumpets? BRASS is coming!

Durham BRASS Festival 2017 kicks off this Friday, July 7^th promising 10 days of live music to captivate the county.

At 1PM on Friday, the festival starts with a bang at the opening event featuring Back Chat Brass in the heart of the city, followed by a whole host of daily events guaranteed to get your foot tapping.

Throughout the festival, there are showcases that will transport audiences from Broadway to Venice, give you a taste of Northern Soul and a unique honouring of jazz trumpet legend Dizzy Gillespie by none other than the BBC Big Band.

Highlights also include international bands from Portugal, Spain and France as well as bands closer to home from Wales and Durham itself. The events culminate in the centrepiece of the festival: Streets of BRASS which ‘brings the city to life with a different beat on every corner’, plus, you’ll struggle to miss the gigantic pink bus that will be touring the county, visiting schools and town centres with a range of innovative plastic instruments to get you playing along.

This is Durham will be at the heart of the action, live tweeting some of the best music as it happens so stay tuned and follow @thisisdurham for the latest updates.

Ready to make a week of it? We’ve got your accommodation sorted with hotels and B&Bs that bring you close to the action or country retreats if you’re all BRASS-ed out! If you’re visiting specifically for BRASS, we have a list of must-see attractions around Durham that are not to be missed on your visit.

Rounding off the festival of music is Champion BRASS, where The Cory Band deliver their award-winning performance that has dominated the traditional brass scene. They continue to be the only band in history to have won the European, British National, British Open and Brass in Concert titles in a single year – phew, this one is not to be missed!

Find out about all the events taking place as part of this year’s festival and book tickets by visiting the BRASS website.