When it comes to bringing the genuine spirit of the Swing Era—where the brass is punchy, the rhythm section drives the room, and the vocal standards steal the show—the heart of the scene belongs to Canterbury’s “swingingest” big band, Sideline Swing. Under Kaiaho “Butch” Green’s leadership since its 1994 inception, Sideline Swing bridges multi-generational talent with sheer performance joy. Their wheelhouse, classic 1930s-50s swing, Miller, Basie, Fitzgerald, Sinatra, and Darin, delivers the warmth, humor, and authentic danceability that big band music was originally built for. They regularly play for local corporate and sporting events, private parties and social dances, community fun days and festivals, and public concerts.
For vocal charisma, tight horn charts, and real human warmth to an audience, Sideline Swing are hard to beat.
The band is a ‘big band’, so generally performs with a standard big band configuration of 18 performers, but actual numbers can vary between 15 and 25, depending on current membership and their availability. Most of the sound comes from the 3 different wind instruments: Trumpets, Trombones, and Saxophones (usually having either 4 or 5 players in each section). These are driven by the engine room of the rhythm section, comprising Drums, Keyboard, Guitar, and Bass. On top of that are added vocal and instrumental solos. Some tunes call for additional or variable instruments, such as clarinet, flute, or even the Chapman Stick, so these are added as necessary.
Our members come from all walks of life, span 7 decades in age, with experience levels to match. This diverse group works together to bring a sense of fun to all of our performances. We like to keep things fun and light hearted in our performances, with a bit of humour whenever we can.
