This year marked the 31st Fleet Week hosted by one of America’s most diverse cities. In just seven days, 28 members of Navy Band Northeast gave 17 performances across the New York City area in support of Fleet Week New York.
In addition to performances in several smaller venues, this year Navy Band Northeast musicians performed in Central Park, Times Square, the Rockefeller Center, Citi Field Stadium as well as on the Today Show, Fox and Friends and CBS New York. In a landscape where the rich tapestry of languages, cultures and beliefs that define American values are personified in the faces of its crowded streets and subways, strangers always find a commonality when Navy musicians play their first note.
Crowds immediately gather, cell phones emerge for photos and videos and soon the audience is moving in time with the rhythm of the band. Small parks are transformed into packed concert arenas and baseball fans find themselves standing a little taller after they hear the National Anthem.
These messages come by way of the uniform, through the U.S. Navy’s finest, most inspired musical storytellers, Navy musicians. The music reminded all New Yorkers of the role they can play to serve and support our sea services, ensuring our Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard remain the unequaled force that safeguards all Americans.