Swing Shift Big Band at the Isabel
You know the tune. You’re halfway to humming it. Then a whole horn section comes in and suddenly that familiar melody feels twice as big. Swing Shift Big Band brings songs from Hollywood, Broadway and television to Kingston’s Isabel on Saturday, November 28. The Canadian band has been performing since 1996, and its vocalists and full horn section are a good reason to hear those tunes in a room with a real band.
Give the horns a chance to surprise you
Part of the fun of a big band is that you can follow a melody and still be caught off guard by what’s happening around it. Listen to the way the horn section answers a singer, or notice how the rhythm keeps going underneath even as the band changes gears. There’s enough going on for the person who wants to pay attention to the arrangement, and enough familiar material for the person who just wants a tune they can carry out the door.
The program is built around music from the stage and screen. That makes this a good night to invite someone whose musical tastes only overlap with yours once in a while. They may know a song from a show you’ve never watched. You might know it from an entirely different recording. The band gets to put its own spin on both memories.
Make it a Saturday night out
This one makes an easy plan with friends, a partner or a relative who has a favourite old standard they will happily tell you about. Get your tickets through the Isabel, then see who recognises the first melody and who’s still humming it on the way home.
When and where
Saturday, November 28, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.. Jennifer Velva Bernstein Performance Hall, Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, 390 King Street West, Kingston. Tickets are $55–$60 through the Isabel box office.
