Warren County continues to march toward its bicentennial celebration with a free concert of 19th Century American brass band music by the Yankee Brass Band.

The concert will be held Saturday, July 22, 2023, beginning at 2 p.m. in Garret D. Wall Park, the town square located in front of the Warren County Courthouse in Belvidere. Bring your own lawn chairs or blankets to sit on during the performance. In case of rain, the concert will be held inside United Presbyterian Church, 224 Mansfield St, Belvidere.

United Presbyterian Church will be selling refreshments during the event, while the Warren County Bicentennial, Cultural and Heritage Advisory Board and the county Division of Cultural and Heritage Affairs are planning activities for kids and historical displays. Local historical societies have been invited to participate as well.

With the county’s 200-year anniversary coming up soon, Warren County is holding a series of events to get the party started. Last summer, the county looked back to its centennial era with a free concert of hot jazz from the Roaring Twenties; another event that harkens back to the centennial is planned for this fall with a Great Gatsby-style gala on October 21 at Rutherfurd Hall in Allamuchy, and planning is underway for other events to last through 2025.

Warren County came into existence in 1825 after an act that passed the NJ State Legislature on November 20, 1824 separated the area from Sussex County. The county was named in honor of the Revolutionary War hero General Joseph Warren, a Bostonian who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775, fifty years before the formation of Warren County.

The July 22 concert will feature music that would have been heard in the early years of Warren County. Since 1987, the Yankee Brass Band has entertained audiences with “historically informed performances” of 19th Century American Brass Band Music. Using rare and authentic period instruments, the Yankee Brass Band presents the music of the “Golden Age of Bands” played in much the same manner as in the mid to late 19th Century.

Each summer, the members of the Yankee Brass Band assemble from across the country, volunteering their time and talents to preserve this unique musical legacy through a week of live performances. The annual events are made possible, in part, through the support of the Friends of the Yankee Brass Inc. a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Additional financial support is provided by concert sponsorships and the generous contributions of individuals.

More information about the Yankee Brass Band is available at www.yankeebrassband.org while to learn more about Warren County’s bicentennial, visit www.warren200.com.