Olympia Brass Band
Expect to see the fringed umbrellas a la New Orleans cropping up in the crowd as Dejan's Olympia Brass Band belts out its soulful music.
The New Orleans-based jazz group that was formed in 1883 has graced the Danville festival every year. An article in the June edition of Southern Living gives the lowdown on this popular group of performers.
The festival is one of the long list of occasions for which the band performs. It plays at banquets, parties, dances, grand openings, Mardi Gras parades and festivities and traditional New Orleans jazz funerals. The band regularly packs them in at the Preservation Hall concert series in New Orleans.
Milton Batiste, band leader and trumpet player with the band over 30 years, says music is a way of life for some families in New Orleans. ``It covers all occasions. We like to play all occasions from the christening to the funeral.''
The group, which brings seven members to Danville, spends at least four to five months traveling. They usually leave Danville for a European tour. After stopping at the Ravinia Festival outside of Chicago, they will head for Italy and Turkey this year.
Harold Dejan, who organized the band in 1960, is well into his 80s and used to travel with the band when it first started performing in Danville. His health keeps him from traveling. To make sure the group's style of music continues, a group called the Young Olympians has been organized.