Hello all!

Welcome to summer (typically rainy now), and thanks for subscribing to our newsletters. We love to share our latest news and events with you and hope that you can come along to our shows and that you’ll encourage your family and friends to join us.

What have we been up to, so far, this year?

We started 2025 with our virtually sold-out (only four single seats went unsold) Perfectly Frank show at The Pavilion Theatre, Gorleston. Matt Ford, who is considered to be the UK’s finest Big Band singer, brought his inimitable interpretation of twenty of Sinatra’s finest arrangements from the pens of Billy May, Nelson Riddle, Quincy Jones and more. Matt, as always, was superb and had the audience in the palm of his hand from the very first note he sang, and The Front Row Big Band rose to the occasion. I was incredibly proud of the Front Row Band, and Matt had a great time too.

On Saturday, 31st May, we played at a VE Day Celebration Dance at the Saxon Air Hangar in Norwich Airport, following in the footsteps of the Miller band. We performed many 1940s classics, with the evening ending at midnight with The Last Post and Reveille played by John, one of our trumpeters, and the words spoken by another of our trumpeters, Katie. It was a spine-tingling moment with absolute silence in the huge venue, even after it was over, people were still transfixed. A memorable evening.

We wanted to take this opportunity to apologise to those of you who purchased tickets and were looking forward to our Songbirds concert at Dereham. Sadly, despite our best efforts, advance sales were disappointing, so we had to make the difficult decision to cancel the concert.

Over the last year, we have been using the more intimate surroundings of the Eaton Suite at Dunston Hall for a tri-monthly showcase of the Front Row Big Band at its very best. These gigs have proved extremely popular and provide us with a wonderful opportunity to see our regular followers and meet new Big Band fans. We have been asked if there is any possibility of the Front Row Big Band doing an occasional gig to the north of Norwich.

So, we have decided to take Front Row on Tour to… Wensum Valley Hotel, Taverham on Thursday 19th June at 8 pm. We will perform some of the great vocal numbers from our Songbirds show including numbers from performers such as Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Helen Forrest (Harry James’ vocalist) and some all-time classic Bond themes from Carly Simon and Sheena Easton, plus two songs from A Star Is Born by Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. It will be an eclectic mix with instrumentals from the bands of Ambrose, Gene Krupa, Will Bradley and Artie Shaw. The first number of each set will be by The Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band that came to England in June 1944 and played all over East Anglia and locally at St. Faiths Airfield (now Norwich Airport). So, come along and we can guarantee that you’ll have a wonderful time with FRBB and our fabulous vocalists, Crystal Cowban and Laura White.

What Next?

In the Autumn, we present our Front Row, Curtain Up concert at Gorleston Pavilion on Saturday, 27th September at 7:30 pm, featuring big band interpretations of the finest Broadway and West End songs. We’re currently finalising the set list… but that’s proved difficult as there is so much great material to draw from, so it’s a case of what do we leave out!

On Thursday, the 30th October, Front Row at The Hall returns to the Eaton Suite at Dunston Hall for our acoustic session – no mics, just the pure sound of the Big Band.

We’re excited to be promoting our Swing Dance at The Belvedere Centre in Norwich on Friday 14th November at 7.30 pm with special guest, the Swing DJ Andy AV8. The Belvedere has a sprung dance floor, so if you’re coming, be sure to remember your dancing shoes.

Finally, on Sunday 21st December at 3 pm, to make sure you get into the Christmas spirit, we present – A Swinging Christmas in The Sunningdale Suite at Dunston Hall. Always popular, so be sure to book early to secure your allocated seat.

Thank you again for following and supporting us. We look forward to seeing you all soon.

Martin

The Big Band sound is Alive & Swinging with
The Front Row Big Band