Don't strike up the band.
Sad news for State Fair music fans: For the first time in 50 years, the U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps won't perform at the State Fair of Texas.
Fair officials say this year’s daily performances at Marine Corps Square in Fair Park have been cancelled because of federal budget cuts.
Brigadier General David Furness says that military musical and ceremonial units "may only perform in the area surrounding their immediate duty stations.”
State Fair officials say they hope to see the prestigious Washington DC based marching band back in 2014.
Since 1963, the musical Marines have performed each year at the State Fair. The band, armed with bugles, drums and cymbals,wowed fairgoers with a medley of patriotic and popular tunes, from “Semper Fidelis” to “I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo” to “Rocky Top.”
This year’s fair opens Sept. 27 -- a week from Friday -- for a 24-day run.
