Formed in 2008 out of a desire to play music that appealed to the feet as much as to the ears, the Hackney Colliery Band is east London’s unique take on the brass band. Featuring trumpets, trombones, saxes, sousaphone and marching percussion, the band are totally acoustic and yet able to blow the roof off any room. Hackney Colliery Band’s members have hugely diverse musical backgrounds, ranging from work with cutting edge jazz group Porpoise Corpus to the Bollywood Brass Band, and from Jarvis Cocker to major orchestras. This breadth of musical talent is clearly on display in their eclectic repertoire. Mining nuggets of funk, hip-hop and hi-octane rock from the musical coalface and throwing in a few chunks of Balkan brass, ska and contemporary jazz for good measure, the Hackney Colliery Band’s setlist is as diverse as the London borough that gave them their name. Add the fact that the band stays true to its roots by bringing the tradition of mobile marching bands firmly into the 21st Century and you know that every gig’s sure to be unique.  Whatever and wherever they’re playing, though, you can be certain of one thing: this is high-energy, good-time music that’ll make you want move your feet.

Inspired by New Orleans marching bands, Balkan beats, contemporary hip-hop and hi-octane rock in equal measure...expect covers of artists including Youngblood Brass Band, Ozomatli, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Justin Timberlake alongside original tracks showcasing the work of the band’s composers.

(Photo courtesy of Aiden Harris)