John Lucas will find himself in a familiar setting Thursday, when he and his fellow Iola Municipal Band members offer up a special Statehouse concert at the Capitol grounds in Topeka.
Lucas, 67, was a part of the municipal band the last time the group was invited to perform at the State Capitol in the summer of 1978. He was still in high school.
Truth be told, the setting may not be too familiar, Lucas confessed.
“Actually, I remember very little about that concert,” Lucas said with a sly grin. “I don’t remember playing, but I remember getting to meet the governor.”
The special performance this time around comes at the invitation of Lt. Gov. David Toland of Iola. The performance ties in with the countless celebrations this summer for the nation’s 250th birthday.
“Listening to the band on the Allen County Courthouse lawn is like being in a Norman Rockwell painting,” Toland wrote in a Facebook post this week. “It shaped how I see my home.”
BAND DIRECTOR Phil Becker has given Iola audiences a taste in recent weeks of what’s in store with a number of the songs the band will play in Topeka.
This week’s concert was considered the group’s “pre-capital show,” Becker explained, “to show the hometown people some of what we’re going to play.”
Most of the tunes carry a patriotic theme, including “Testimonials to Liberty,” which was featured during the band’s July 2 Iola performance. Iola Mayor Steve French provided narration to that song, and will do so again in Topeka. Becker said other special guests will also be a part of the Capitol performance.
THE IOLA MUNICIPAL Band’s origins date back to 1871, making it the oldest continuing municipal band west of the Mississippi River.
And while numbers have ebbed and flowed through the years, membership is on an uptick, Becker noted.
He played trombone with the Iola group for two years before taking the reins as director in 2025.
“Our membership has increased every year since I’ve been here,” he said.
The 30 musicians create a vibrant, lively sound, enough to be heard from blocks away — which sparked another childhood memory for Lucas.
“The band was kind of a family thing for us,” Lucas noted.
He recalled going out to the street corner as a youth — his family lived just blocks away from the bandstand — to hear his mother play trombone.
