Cookeville Community Band Silent For Memorial Day

For the first time in almost 15 years, the Cookeville Community Band’s instruments will be silent this Memorial Day weekend.

Each May, the band plays in Dogwood Park’s pavilion to launch their summer concert series. Band President Jerry Buttram said he and band board members agreed to cancel the concert over concerns about COVID-19. Buttram said the decision was difficult to make.

“We have many members that have always played this event,” Buttram said. “We always look forward [to this event]. It was a challenge, we had to wait for a couple of things to see if it was possible or not. Plus, we did not want to jeopardize anyone’s health.”

Band and city officials will wait until mid June to determine if concerts will resume this summer. Buttram said proper social distancing couldn’t be possible for the band. He said 65 to 80 musicians typically play per concert.

“We are a community group that loves to play, we have people of all walks that come in,” Buttram said. “We’ve got people who are band directors like myself; we also have people who are professionals, blue collar and white collar workers; high schoolers, and we’ve even got a few middle schoolers that have progressed quickly on their instrument to play. It’s a true community band.”

The next potential scheduled concert is July 6.