USAFE played in Slovakia in 2013. (source: Courtesy of US Embassy)
TO COMMEMORATE the 70th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP), the United States Air Forces in Europe Band (USAFE) returns to Slovakia at the end of August to perform six concerts in five cities between August 27 and September 1.
On August 27 at 17:30, USAFE will play in Bratislava’s Hviezdoslavovo Square, before moving on to Mariánske Square in Žilina on August 28 at 18:00. The band will then participate in the culmination of SNP celebrations in Banská Bystrica, with a concert at the SNP Museum complex on August 29 at 17:00, and another in SNP Square on August 30 at 17:00.
They will perform in Brezno on August 31 at M. R. Štefánik Square at 16:00, and Košice’s Kasárne Kulturpark culture hub will welcome the band on September 1 at 19:00. All concerts are free.
The Bratislava performance takes place within the International Bratislava and Castle Festivities festivals, co-organised with foreign embassies and cultural institutions – in this case the US Embassy to Slovakia.
USAFE, led by Lt. Col R. Michael Mench, is the band of the US Air Force deployed in Europe to perform at diplomatic and ceremonial events and top international meetings. Dubbed ‘The American Ambassadors of Music’, they are based in the Sembach Kaserne barracks in Germany and have been performing for more than 60 years.
The band plays a variety of American and European styles of music, offering something for everyone, including Hollywood and Broadway classics, New Orleans-style Dixieland and big-band jazz, military marches, brass music and solo performances, the US Embassy in Bratislava informed.
