Saxton's Cornet Band

Saxton's Cornet Band will perform "its greatest hits" at this year's festival.

"We gone we've gone through and decided which ones had the most appeal to people and those are the ones we're going to play," said Nicky Hughes, who is the band's general manager.

The highpoint will be Steve Bottom performing Yankee Doodle variations, said Hughes, who also is the band's drum major, narrator and occasional percussionist.   "It's a really fancy solo cornet piece," noting that no other audiences will hear Bottom performing it with the group in the future.

Bottom is moving to Missouri.

One of the highlights for the group, which is celebrating its 12th anniversary and has appeared at 11 festivals, was playing at the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C.

"We were a roving act on Pennsylvania avenue before and after the ceremony and played at one of the inaugural balls at the Reagan Center in downtown Washington."

The band uses actual music of the era on period instruments and emphasizes authentic and accurate performances at every event.

Other board members of the band include: David Henderson, baritone; equipment manager Mike West, who plays alto horn; business manager John Higgins, B-flat cornet; conductor David Goins and Bottom, both E-flat cornet; and personnel manager, Chris Miller, tenor horn. The band has about 20 members.

The band has four costumes for performances. They have red town band outfits that were typical of small-town band in the 1850s. They also have Union Army blue, Confederate gray and can be seen in 1860-style civilian clothing.

The band performs at such events as concerts, dress parades, grand military balls, lecture recitals, militia musters and battle re-enactments. The group has a CD titled "Naughty, Naughty Men" that it hopes to release this summer.