May the Fourth be with you. Oak Lawn Band and members of the 501st Star Garrison were a force to be reckoned with at the May Wine Walk on Cedar Springs Road. (Photo courtesy of Oak Lawn Band)
The 40-year-old organization came roaring back from the pandemic
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com
While many groups are still struggling post pandemic, the Oak Lawn Band has come roaring back, bigger and stronger than ever. For its 2021-22 season, the band had 38 members. And for its latest concert, band President Jonathan Harvey said, there were 86 musicians on stage.
For Pride, 125 musicians are confirmed to participate as of our interview, with more signing up every day. Compare that to 50 who marched last year.
“Former members are flying in from all over the country,” Harvey said. “And this year, we have a color guard. It’s the most professional we’ve ever looked.”
Like Pride, Oak Lawn Band is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Harvey explained that the band organized specifically to appear in the first Texas Freedom Parade in 1983. Because after all, what’s a parade without a marching band?
One member of the original band, Mason Tripp, will be marching in this year’s Pride playing the euphonium, which Harvey described as a brass instrument similar to a trombone but with buttons instead of a slide.
To honor the band on its 40th anniversary and recognize the special connection the organization has to the parade, Oak Lawn Band will lead the parade as it kicks off at 2 p.m. behind the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park on June 4.
In addition to being larger than ever, Oak Lawn Band is playing more concerts and events than ever, too. They appeared at the May and June wine walks on Cedar Springs Road. The May Wine Walk took place on May the 4th — Star Wars Day (May the Fourth Be With You) — and Star Wars was definitely represented in that performance.
Harvey called the performance in front of Hunky’s a return to the group’s roots, playing in the heart of Oak Lawn alongside members of the Star Garrison, the Texas branch of the 501st Legion which is an official Star Wars fan club. Members of the 501st (pronounced Five-O-First) were wearing costumes authorized by Lucasfilms, and, of course, the band played the Star Wars theme music.
“The band and the audience had a lot of fun,” Harvey said.
Oak Lawn Band’s season runs July through June, and last season, the first after the pandemic, they performed four main concerts and marched in Pride. As this season comes to a close, Harvey counts 17 performances, with this season’s finale coming up on June 17. That free concert takes place at Pinkston High, 3700 Holystone St., at 4 p.m., and it is a celebration of LGBTQ composers.
Titled March for Freedom–ROYGBV, the concert includes everything from light fare like the Village People’s “YMCA” to local composer Michael Eaves’ “Requiem for AIDS Victims.” The assortment of selections also includes music by gay composers Sondheim, Tchaikovsky and Copeland.
This year, the band has also played at the Dallas Zoo, North Texas Pride in Plano and Oak Cliff Earth Day.
Harvey noted the wonderful relationship the band has developed with Dallas ISD for rehearsal and performance space. He said members of the band self-fund their appearances, including the cost of instruments and uniforms.
“We’re a shoe-string operation,” he said, “and have always had a warm, welcoming hand out.”
And Harvey does double duty as not only president but trumpet player as well.
He noted the large number of transgender members of the band and said music can be healing. In fact, he said, “The band wouldn’t exist without our trans brothers and sisters.”
He said the group’s trans members have always been accepted for who they are, adding that they are “a nice reminder of what the LGBTQIA+ community really is.”
Community and a warm welcome are things Harvey said the band does really well, and anyone who would like to perform with them or come see them perform is always welcome.
