North American Brass Band returns to Fort Wayne with 1,500 performers

Visit Fort Wayne is proud to announce the 2026 North American Brass Band (NABBA) Championships will once again take place in downtown Fort Wayne, April 9 - 11.

NABBA is an organization of volunteers dedicated to the promotion and development of the British-style brass band movement in North America. Performers participating in their Championship range from high school age to senior citizens.

With Fort Wayne's growing music economy and the addition of music venues such as Pearl Street Arts Center, NABBA has once again chosen Fort Wayne as host, marking the seventh time the event has been held in our city and committing to hosting here again in 2027, 2029, and 2030.

“When we started coming to Fort Wayne in 2019 we had 23 bands, and this year we have 47,” said NABBA Board Member, Dave Jones.

The event will be hosted by the Grand Wayne Convention Center with competitions taking place at the Embassy Theatre and Pearl Street Arts Center.

This event is open to the public. Competition, schedule, and ticket information can be found at nabba.org/championships. Tickets can also be purchased at the Embassy box office.

Not only is NABBA a unique and fun event for Fort Wayne to host and residents to enjoy, but large-scale events like this bring significant economic benefits to our city. The estimated economic impact of this event is approximately $627,000.

“We are thrilled to welcome NABBA back to Fort Wayne and look forward to wowing the attendees with our hospitable and state-of-the-art venues,” said Visit Fort Wayne Senior Sales Manager, Josie O’Donnell.

The Fort Wayne community has come together to generously supply instruments and rehearsal space for NABBA musicians to utilize. Each venue below is offering a full compliment of percussion instruments for use by each band as well as music stands and chairs. Some bands will be rehearsing during school days and music students at each school will be observing.

- Belmont Highschool
- Bishop Dwenger Highschool
- Blackhawk Middle School
- Fort Wayne Philharmonic Downtown
- Garrett Highschool
- Huntington North Highschool
- Lane Middle School
- New Haven Highschool
- Snider Highschool
- South Side Highschool
- Woodlan Highschool

New Haven Highschool and the Fort Wayne Area Community Band are also supplying NABBA with equipment.

This year, about 1,500 brass instrument performers from across the United States and Canada will compete as soloists, in ensembles, and as a band to win the North American Championship title.

Brass Band related workshops and vendor displays are also on the agenda for Friday and Saturday.