Independent Silver Band

In 1884 to 1889 the prosperous and energetic Illinois community of Mt. Vernon enjoyed the music of its own Independent Silver Band. Composed of 10 local men, all of who actually attended the same church and Sunday school. The group provided its city and region with first clas entertainment and boundless enjoyment.  The unit played for balls, picnics, skating parties, political rallies and much more.  Sadly, the demands of family and career dictated the all-too-soon demise of the esteemed musical group.  In 1914, the members families and friends  gather together again in Mt. Vernon for a farewell concert, parade and grand reunion. Then, too quickly, the pages of history swept forward on the breeze, and the wondrous music gently wafted away.                                                                 

Steve Loomis

  In July, 2004, the music of the independent Silver Band came to life once more.  William L. Reynolds, of Mt. Vernon, a music educator and long-time circus operator and musician, achieved a lifelong dream by assembling the new ISB. Mr. Reynolds believed that he could make available the opportunity for thousands of people to experience authentic American music of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By bringing together interested brass players and percussionists from Mt. Vernon and surrounding cities and towns in southern Illinois Reynolds created the proper team of dedicated persons, all of whom shared his vision to give audiences the chance to hear the music of a bygone time. 

Steve Loomis

The background music is The Fireman's Quickstep, 1864.