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Next Scheduled Performances

May 31 , 2013
at
Festival of Flowers

(Portland, OR)

Welcome to the home page of The Beat Goes On Marching Band!

Did you play in a high school or college marching band? Remember how much fun that was? Have you ever found yourself wishing you could relive those days? Well, dream no longer, my musical friend ... The Beat Goes On!

The Beat Goes On is an all-adult marching band committed to delighting Northwest and National audiences while reliving the best parts of the marching band experience. The band is known for its feel-good attitude, emphasis on audience interaction, and spontaneity on the street and on stage. Though our musical tastes are eclectic, TBGO features a high-energy, brassy, rock and roll style - we may be a marching band, but we're more likely to play Lady Gaga than John Phillip Sousa! Band members hail primarily from the Pacific Northwest but come from as far away as Ohio, Florida, Arizona, and California for special events.

On May 6, 2013 TBGO had the honor of being the first-ever marching band to open a session of the Oregon House of Representatives. Many thanks to Representative Jeff Reardon of District 48 for sponsoring the band!

Meet The Beat! Take the ten-cent tour with this video


Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau, Bahamas

RCCL Cruise Ship

Grace Hopper Celebration, Portland

Macy's Holiday Parade, Portland

Stars in Her Eyes!

 

As the Beach Boys might have said: "Round, round, we get around!" TBGO has performed across the region, throughout the Northwest, and across the continent. Click any map to zoom in and explore the places touched by The Beat, or visit our Awards and Honors page for a list of our major events. Color code: red = parade (may also include standstill); blue = standstill only; yellow = scheduled.


Portland Metro Region

National / International

Northwest Region
 

Click here for more video from the NWAPA Championships


 

SPONSORS & PARTNERS

TBGO is thrilled to announce the award of a Community Cultural Participation Grant from the Cultural Coalition of Washington County, funded by the Oregon Cultural Trust, for Acquisition of Marching Band Percussion Equipment. Thank you CCWC for helping the beat go on!!! See the CCWC press release and the full list of grantees and their photos.

Special thanks to Jalen Publishing and Matrix Music for their support of TBGO. You guys rock!!!

WHAT'S NEW

Order form available for souvenir Calgary Road Trip T-Shirts. Order deadline is June 3.

Staging information posted for Festival of Flowers.

Band member Arlene Brill is featured in this story in Senior Life Newspapers.

Thanks to the Salem Statesman-Journal for great coverage in their video of the Iris Festival Parade. (TBGO appears about 50 seconds into the video.)

Thank you to Speaker of the House Tina Kotek for her kind words and an invitation to return to the Oregon House at a future date.

New events posted:  Festival of Flowers (May 31); Tillamook Dairy Parade (June 22); Portland Sunday Parkways (June 23), Astoria Grand Land Parade (August 10).

The Portland Tribune has a nice story on our performance at the State Capitol.

With its visit to the State Capitol, TBGO redefined "Rocking the House" and made a little Oregon history as we became the largest group and the first marching band ever to perform at an Oregon House session opening. Catch the press release for full details and don't miss the video (above)!

Check out our lovely new first place award from Long Beach Loyalty Days.

We get to do the darnedest things - check out the Make Boring Brilliant flag-raising that we got to be part of last month for Vitamin Water! (You might want to catch the dinosaur in the town park too!)

Check out our new Meet The Beat video at left!

Our press release announcing the band's ground-breaking performance in the Oregon House at the State Capitol (as well as our other 2013 schedule) is available on the new Press & Media page.

New Travel Map Feature - check out the places we've been (below left).

TBGO volunteers at the Royal Rosarian Auction had a fine time and helped earn welcome funds for the band. Click here for the photos!

The new TBGO Travel Assistance Program is up and running to help provide funds for the Calgary trip where they're needed. Click here to see how to donate, or click here to see how to apply for a grant.

ROAD TRIP!!! Information is now posted for our July 2013 trip to the Calgary Stampede. Read up and sign up - reservations are due by Monday February 4.

Brrrr ... Winter's coming, and it's cold out there! The band needs your help to purchase winter jackets to keep us on the street. Learn more about how to help (and the nifty rewards available) at our Jacket Project Page, then use the social media buttons to help spread the word!

Two excellent (and dry!) Veterans Day Parades in Portland and Albany! Here's The Oregonian's video coverage and photo essay from the Portland parade (TBGO appears both on and off-screen; that's our version of America the Beautiful). And check out the video coverage in from the Albany Democrat-Herald and our band family. And click to enlarge the photo of TBGO's veterans (below). Thanks for your service!

Robert Fulghum is back on cymbals with us in the Pendleton Westward Ho! Parade. This time he adds the Horse-Puckey Polka to his list of indignities.

Southwest Community Connection calls TBGO "an unambiguous highlight of the [Multnomah Village] parade". We think that's the first time we've ever been unambiguous!!!


Thanks to the Tigard | Tualatin | Sherwood Times for a great story on TBGO.

A TBGO shout-out and thanks to Inside Out blogger Catherine for highlighting the band in her coverage of Multnomah Days.

TBGO's tubas showed their Olympic spirit and Fred Bear helped out on snare at the Fred Meyer Main Office BBQ.

Wanna know what it's really like to do a parade with TBGO? Robert Fulghum muses on the experience (and the waiting around!).

A second journal entry detailing his prep for the Seafair Torchlight Parade is now available from our "embedded author" Robert Fulghum. (And he did a great job in the parade-- am sure another write-up will be forthcoming!!!)

Our newest cymbal player and "embedded journalist" Robert Fulghum writes about his experience rehearsing with TBGO in preparation for the Seafair Torchlight Parade. I think he had fun! Be sure to check his site again after the July 28 parade.

We're back! What a terrific trip to The Bahamas, performing at CR Walker Senior High School in Nassau and aboard RCCL's Monarch of the Seas. Stay tuned for photos, video, and a full report!

 

New members eagerly welcomed; see Contact or Join Us above.


   


The Beat Goes On Webmaster