The Barclay Brass Quintent performs on Memorial Day in Silver Spring. (Photo by Chris Smyth)

After two days of gray, rainy weather, the skies turned blue over Silver Spring, Maryland, salvaging the long weekend, and providing a perfect environment for an outdoor concert setting. Tucked back into a neighborhood amongst the trees and cicadas, The Barclay Brass Quintet performed a two hour show on Memorial Day afternoon full of classical stylings and popular hits.

Composed of veteran and active duty military members from the Washington, DC area, The Barclay Brass Quintet honored their fallen brothers and sisters early in the performance with “America The Beautiful” and a rendition of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.”

Having previously performed for the Pope and President of the United States, this performance carried less significance, and the band members spent the afternoon relaxing and playing whatever felt good. While being able to show off their talents with classics from Johann Sebastian Bach, Paul Dukas, and Claude Debussy, the quintet also mixed in popular hits like “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey, and “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond. An instrumental version of “Under The Sea” from The Little Mermaid captured the attention of the kids in the audience.

The Barclay Brass Quintet used this carefree performance as a warm up for larger upcoming shows. On Sunday, June 13, the band is performing a benefit concert in Northeast DC in the plaza in front of the Lutheran Church of Reformation, just steps from the United States Capitol. Hoping to raise awareness and funds for Good Neighbors of Capitol Hill, a coalition working to help refugee families in the region, The Barclay Brass will play starting at 3pm to help out a worthy cause.

For the dozens of people in attendance, the music of The Barclay Brass Quintet was a beautiful way to spend an afternoon. Not even the incessant, screeching cicadas could dampen the experience. But unlike the Brood X, for the people who felt like they had been buried away for 17 years, the brilliant bursts of brass were a wonderful way to start the summer.

Here are some pictures of The Barclay Brass Quintet performing on Memorial Day. All photos copyright and courtesy of Chris Smyth.