Lafayette Band says 'Welcome Back' with June 13 concert

After a year without music, the Lafayette Band of North Kingstown will present a free "Welcome Back" concert on Sunday, June 13, at 2 p.m. Director Bethany Clarke Bromley will lead a program of patriotic music, classics and popular themes from TV, cinema and theater.

The performance will be at the Band Shell, North Kingstown Town Beach, off Route 1A, Wickford. Audience members should bring lawn chairs and blankets for seating. Face coverings will be optional for anyone who is fully vaccinated, and encouraged for those who are not. There will be no rain date.

"The Lafayette Band is a nonprofit community concert band founded more than 135 years ago, making it one of the oldest bands in New England," says the group's president, Jacquelyn Lamoureux. Our musicians, who come from many communities in Rhode Island, stayed connected during the pandemic through weekly Zoom rehearsals. In April, we resumed in-person rehearsals with social distancing at the Band Shell.

"Now that the state has fully reopened," she adds, "we're planning our customary weekly concerts for this summer. The schedule will be announced soon."

For more information about the band, including photos, video clips and band history, visit lafayettebandri.org or facebook.com/LafayetteBand.RI/.