Leading social change by revealing big stories hidden in the human heart.

TOWN BAND (2022)

“A band’s commitment to keep going.”

-Jon Kalish, NPR

“Bravo! Such a lovely film. TOWN BAND makes me want to set down my guitar, pick up a clarinet or tuba and join the Callicoon Center Band.” 

-Tom Chapin, Three-time Grammy award winner

At a crossroads in the Catskills, a community has been created by live music. For over ninety years, in the summer, the Callicoon Center Band has been playing for one hour on Wednesday nights, rain or shine. Local music teachers, merchants, social workers, teens, and retirees commit to keeping traditional waltzes, polkas, and show tunes alive. Without the Callicoon Center band’s summer concerts for the past 92 years, the vintage band music they play would be forgotten. Onscreen you’ll see people play tunes to forget daily troubles, honor rural pie-making, support their spoon-playing band member who falls ill, and teach music to the next generation.

In this crowd-pleasing short documentary made for an all-ages audience, Academy Award-nominated® director Alice Elliott celebrates how live music brings a community together and, for the length of the concert, pushes away their problems. 

Town Band is streaming for free on WHMT. Watch here.