SPUDS are an open/all comers dance band. Their website contains a large number of tunes in abc format and standard notation, along with links to other tune repositories.
From SPUDS
This blog post provides some thoughts on how to lead an open band.
From Jeff Kaufman
Madison’s Tuesday Night Dances—Fostering Talent for More Than Twenty Years
This article by Carol Ormand describes Madison, Wisconsin’s approach to developing talent through weekly dances that feature newer callers as well as an open band.
From the CDSS News
Improving the ECD Open Band Experience
Robert Reichert provides some suggestions on how to improve the experience of playing with, and the quality of music from an ECD open band.
From the CDSS News
Open Dance Bands: Best Practices Shared by 35 Groups
This manual shares common best practices used by 35 open dance bands from throughout North America, and illustrates the diversity of approaches across communities. We hope this resource provides a great starting point for launching new open bands and additional inspiration for groups that have been playing together for years.
From Emily Addison and CDSS
This article by Sue Songer describes the power of guest musicians being able to play along with dance bands – in what is known as ‘the back row.’ It also describes how to successfully create this experience in your dance community.
From the CDSS News
In this blog post, Jeff Kaufman explains how to call chords during the middle of a dance so that fellow bandmates know where the chord progression is going.
Creating a Thriving Open Band
September 20, 2018
Please join us if your group encourages sit-in musicians at your dances, or if you’re interested to learn more about including this opportunity at your dances. We’ll hear from open band leaders in Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, and Massachusetts, and have a Q&A at the end.
Thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their generous support.