Band Curry and Other Hot Takes

10th July 2026

Today we awoke to a hot day in Kerkrade, in the hallowed halls of the historic Abdij Rolduc - our heads full of memories, our hearts full of music, and my hotel room sink full of Mark Davey’s sweaty laundry. Much like Mark’s yellowed performance shirt, we are still reeling from a great (and hot) concert with Société St. Martin Fanfare de Stein. The Stein fanfare band showed us many things; magnificent hospitality, generosity, and the beauty of a band chocka full of flugelhorns.

Today we had a relaxed morning, where the band was free to do as we pleased! Some took the opportunity to exercise or go sightseeing around the town, while some slept off the heavy socialising from the night before. Toby Pringle was spotted sketching in the forest next to the abbey, while Mark Davey took the opportunity to secure a contest haircut in town.

We rehearsed from 2pm until 4pm, focusing on “tightening up a few corners” as MD Dave likes to say. Rehearsal was propelled by our collective excitement in anticipation of the world famous “Band Curry” taking place later in the evening. Our appetites were undeterred by the unique smell of the rehearsal room, which was like a combination of an aged Dutch cheese, and Mark’s aforementioned laundry.

The Wellington Brass “Band Curry” is maintained by scholars as truly the original brass-band-contest-curry-eating occasion recorded in history, an evergreen tradition dating back several years, predating the now widespread popularity of such events in the banding world. Despite a paucity of curry-focused restaurants in this particular corner of the Netherlands, we found an (air-conditioned!!) restaurant that was willing to take on our enormous and ravenous group. We shared a few drinks, many laughs and a beautiful meal in the town square in Kerkrade. Every year, our star (of this blog at least) Mark Davey delivers a cracking speech, emphasising the power and importance of friendship. Of all of the contest speeches that Mark has given, this one was certainly the most recent.

With more bars than your favourite test piece, central Kerkrade is fizzing with brass band revellers at every turn. A large events centre has been established for the WMC, and the vibe is absolutely humming. Brass banding is truly atop the cultural pedestal in this town - or at least second place, after local legend Andre Rieu.

We’re incredibly excited to get on stage and strut our stuff, after a long preparation period, plenty of travel and many wonderful concerts. Aroha to all the readers back home, and we look forward to hearing you cheer for us from the other side of the world!!

- Pat Di Somma

Mark talking about friendSHIPS ⛵