Army Band Concert on the Capitol Steps

It's something we look forward to every summer. Since we moved here ten years ago, we always try to get to the concerts on the Capitol steps on Friday evenings. The concerts are held just about every day of the week, but Friday always worked out the best for us. But now that I think of it, any evening would work since I retired in February! They start at 8 PM and last an hour. The weather was perfect last night, and the evening was simply beautiful. Bus loads of visitors were milling about, as well as the usual locals with their pets. Some brought their dinner. Because of the Capitol dome renovation and for security reasons, the location of the band changed again. They face the Capitol and the crowd faced the mall. Regardless of the vantage point, the view is spectacular with the sun setting on the mall. It's got to take a lot of work to set up and dismantle all this equipment. I'm sure they have it worked out like clockwork. One of these evenings we will need to check out the summer concerts in Yards Park. There's just so much to pick from! And that's one of the reasons we like living here. 

Army Band - Pershing's Own - Concert on the Capitol Steps

We've been going every year since we moved to DC from Milwaukee. June is the start of the summer concert series provided free of charge by the army band on the Capitol steps. All the military bands perform around the city at various venues, but we like this one because all we have to do is walk over a couple of blocks, we like Friday evenings, and it's a nice place to sit and watch not only the band, but all the visitors and the surroundings. Residents bring their folding chairs and blankets, the dogs, kids, and have picnics. A lot of tourists stumble by and get to enjoy yet another interesting event on the Mall. This particular concert had music from the villains and good guys from the movies, including Indiana Jones and Harry Potter. At the end of every session is a salute to the armed forces. Each of the five military branch songs are played, and the people in the audience are asked to stand if they served in any of them when their song is played. This time, they asked family members to stand as well. Although I didn't, I silently cheered for three of the five in honor of my father (Coast Guard), mother (Navy), and son (Army). It always brings a tear to my eyes, and is a nice way to remember their service in such a great way. The walk home is always so pleasant passing by the lighted Capitol Building. It's nothing like Milwaukee, and one of the perks about living in the city - if you like that sort of thing. 

Army Band Concert on the Capitol Steps

Every year since we moved to Capitol Hill we have attended the Army Band concerts on the Capitol steps. All the military bands perform around town, but this is the most convenient location for us. They also perform during the week but Friday evenings always worked out the best. It was the end of a work week, it was a nice walk over after dinner, and our son was in the Army. This is the first time we went to a concert that he is no longer on active duty. He is now retired and starting his civilian career. I remember sending him video of the concert to Afghanistan, where he was twice deployed as a surgeon.  Prior to that he was deployed to Iraq. My Dad was in WW II on a destroyer escort and my Mom was in the Navy. You could say the sounds of the military bands are familiar to my ears. The best part of any concert is at the finale when the theme songs of the five branches are played. Anyone who served is asked to stand when their song is played. Whether you agree with whatever is going on in this world or not, I just know our family has contributed positively to the armed forces. These events are reminders of what they do and did. And what a setting to have a concert.