SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A familiar sound of summer is back for another season.

The Sioux Falls Municipal Band is one of the oldest community bands in the Midwest.

Mike Jones picked up the trombone as a kid.

“My dad was a trombone player and he kind of talked me into doing it. I wanted to be in band really bad and I’m glad I stuck with the trombone,” Jones said.

Today, he plays the instrument in the Sioux Falls Municipal Band.

His love for playing and the variety of songs have kept him here for 13 years.

“I teach fifth-grade band, so it’s pretty simple, Hot Cross Buns all the time, but it’s nice to listen and be a part of this complex music,” Jones said.

The Sioux Falls Municipal Band started in 1919.

“Looking back in the history, we see across the United States, there’s a number of municipal bands that start at the turn of the century, 1900 moving forward into the first quarter of the 20th century, so Sioux Falls was no exception,” Augustana Dean of School of Music Peter Folliard said.

The band mostly played patriotic music when it was formed.

Today the musicians are still honoring tradition, while also bringing listeners into the present.

“And so the Sioux Falls Municipal Band has been involved in not just playing contemporary music, but also commissioning new composers to write music, and specifically we see Sioux Falls composers or South Dakota composers that have been commissioned to write music for the Sioux Falls Municipal Band,” Folliard said.

“We play patriotic music, we play medleys, we play musicals, contemporary music, classical music. We play every type of music you can imagine,” Band conductor Tyler Nettestad said.

Tyler Nettestad is the conductor of the band.

He also played the trumpet for several years.

“This band reads so much music throughout the rehearsals in the season that I was able to gain a lot of experience performing on my instrument, and at that time I was in college,” Nettestad said.

The municipal band’s summer concert schedule runs through July 30th this year.

The performances are free.

“I think the community appreciates what we do and then this ensemble works hard to be a part of the community as well. I think it’s been able to last because there’s many people appreciating what we do,” Flute player Shannon Abels said.

Now Jones and the rest of the group are just getting started on another season of entertaining the community.

“You’ll see kids out there, grandparents out there, and they’re all tapping their feet and having a good time and just enjoying the music,” Jones said.

Since 2021, the band has been managed by the Washington Pavilion, and the Augustana School of Music has provided musical leadership.

You can see the band’s full summer concert schedule here.