General News
2 April, 2026
Music in Mareeba
MAREEBA’S Arnold Park will be the place to be on a Sunday afternoon for an exciting new series of free concerts being put on by the Hotshots Big Band.
Starting this month, the Hotshots – that band on the float judged ‘Grand Champion’ in last year’s Mareeba Rodeo Street Parade – will perform an eclectic repertoire from classic swing to modern pop, promising something for everyone.
Hotshots Big Band sax player Robert Coleman said the idea for regular concerts had been kicking around in his head for a while, especially after the reaction from last year’s parade.
The band was also a regular at Yungaburra and was there for its first rotunda concert. (In fact, they’ll be playing there the weekend before the first Mareeba concert).
“I thought, Mareeba’s got nothing like that, yet here we have Arnold Park which is perfect. It has its own rotunda, it’s been there for years,” he said.
Mr Coleman had raised the idea with Mareeba Shire Councillor Lenore Wyatt at a recent awards ceremony, and she had jumped on it and taken the plan back to council for its support.
It is providing the facility, power and some seating for the band, the rest is up to the crowd.
“It should be fun,” Mr Coleman said. “You can bring your own chair or sit on the grass, have a picnic, have afternoon tea or nibbles – that’s what they do in Yungaburra – and just enjoy the music. It’s the perfect time of year in the cooler months.”
The band will have 12 members playing, not its usual 16-member complement, but Mr Coleman said that could grow as the concerts proceed, and members become available.
“We have a horn section, drums, guitars, we are like the old big bands of the 30s, you know, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington,” he said.
“But we play plenty of modern songs as well. We have a very long playlist so each concert will be different.”
Whether it is swing, or pop, the joint will be jumpin’, as they say.
Mr Coleman hoped the atmosphere at the park will get some toes tapping and a few people on their feet.
The Hotshots Big Band concerts will be held on 19 April, 24 May, 28 June, 26 July, 23 August, and 20 September, at no cost to the public, from 2:30pm until 5pm.
