Stardust Band with Governor Mike Huckabee

The STARDUST BIG BAND got its start in 1982 when a group of high school band directors and some former professional musicians, all from the Hot Springs area, realized a need to perpetuate the classic sound of swing and jazz music.

  Their priority was to play good, solid arrangements of traditional sounding tunes and to play them with finesse and proper musicianship. They set weekly rehearsals as a prerequisite, realizing all the while this would require extensive travel for some members from as near as Hot Springs Village and from as far as Benton, Malvern, Little Rock and even Fayetteville. Harvey Haley, an accomplished trombonist and a secondary public school band director highly regarded in his field, was persuaded to accept directorship of the band, and with his zeal for perfection the band reached a pinnacle of power and consistency in performance standards.

  Over the years, the band has accumulated a portfolio of over 200 arrangements that include big band swing and jazz from such greats as Miller, Dorsey, Goodman, Ellington, Basie, Shaw and Herman. They also play a variety of Dixieland, Country, Blues, Latin, Pops, Soft Rock and yes, even Polka.

  Stardust Big Band consists of 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 5 saxophones, piano, guitar, bass, drums, and a vocalist.