Swing Music
Check out the Spotify playlists (slow, medium and faster tempos) below for swing music you can practice to.
This is just a taste - there's a lot of great swing music out there so keep exploring artists you like!
Check out the Spotify playlists (slow, medium and faster tempos) below for swing music you can practice to.
This is just a taste - there's a lot of great swing music out there so keep exploring artists you like!
Local Swing Bands in Portland Maine

Hadacol Bouncers
The Hadacol Bouncers play the music of Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, Louis Armstrong and more. The music is a fun hybrid of New Orleans Jazz, Chicago Style Jazz and stride piano classics. The group is a collaboration between Peter Dunphy on banjo, tenor guitar and vocals, and Tom Whitehead on piano, accordion and National steel guitar. The rest of the band features Bill Rayne on trombone & vocals, Tom Wilbur on Tuba, Ray Sapirstein on Cornet, and Don Whitney on Drums. The music is ‘fresh and bright’ and great for dancing, so don't miss it! www.hadacolbouncers.com
The Hadacol Bouncers play the music of Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, Louis Armstrong and more. The music is a fun hybrid of New Orleans Jazz, Chicago Style Jazz and stride piano classics. The group is a collaboration between Peter Dunphy on banjo, tenor guitar and vocals, and Tom Whitehead on piano, accordion and National steel guitar. The rest of the band features Bill Rayne on trombone & vocals, Tom Wilbur on Tuba, Ray Sapirstein on Cornet, and Don Whitney on Drums. The music is ‘fresh and bright’ and great for dancing, so don't miss it! www.hadacolbouncers.com
Tom Whitehead's Rites of Swing
This group is lead by vocalist, guitarist and pianist, Tom Whitehead. The ensemble also features Michael Arciero on guitar, Kris Day on upright bass and Don Whitney on drums, with special guest Ellen Carlson on violin. The sound evokes the smooth, acoustic feeling of Django Reinhardt’s gypsy jazz style, but with a distinctly American flavor of vocal standards from the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Whitehead sings in a very mature, improvisatory style that is greatly complimented by Arciero’s dynamic and virtuosic lead guitar playing. Day and Whitney provide a seamless and effortless rhythmic foundation that swings hard, but is never overbearing. Carlson’s fiddle playing evokes the sophisticated swing of the great Stephan Grappelli along with the earthy grittiness of Vassar Clemens and Johnny Gimble. This group sails along like a Clipper Ship of a bygone era - smooth, elegant, powerful and a real joy to listen and dance to. http://tomwhiteheadmusic.com/rites-of-swing/ |

Copacetic Collective
The Copacetic Collective swings like it ain't no thing. Mining the NOLA based repertoire of the early twentieth century, the band brings rootsy jazz and swing to a growing New England fan base. At home among lindy hoppers, city strollers and backyard revelers, the Copacetic Collective delivers the timeless sound of American celebration. The five piece band formed in 2018 while busking in the streets of Portland, Maine. This meeting has grown into a weekly session in Portland’s Tommy’s Park, fast becoming a favorite hang for dancers and flaneurs alike. Theirs is the sound of Frenchman Street and Jackson Square- the carefree, pulsing rhythm and horns of the storied streets of New Orleans, resounding off of New England brick and cobblestone.
The Copacetic Collective swings like it ain't no thing. Mining the NOLA based repertoire of the early twentieth century, the band brings rootsy jazz and swing to a growing New England fan base. At home among lindy hoppers, city strollers and backyard revelers, the Copacetic Collective delivers the timeless sound of American celebration. The five piece band formed in 2018 while busking in the streets of Portland, Maine. This meeting has grown into a weekly session in Portland’s Tommy’s Park, fast becoming a favorite hang for dancers and flaneurs alike. Theirs is the sound of Frenchman Street and Jackson Square- the carefree, pulsing rhythm and horns of the storied streets of New Orleans, resounding off of New England brick and cobblestone.

Clyde Bisbee & The Wheelhouse Revelers
Clyde Bisbee & the Wheelhouse Revelers are a 6-piece swing jazz & western swing dance band specializing in music from the golden era of jazz, the 1920’s, 1930’s and 1940’s.
Clyde Bisbee & the Wheelhouse Revelers are a 6-piece swing jazz & western swing dance band specializing in music from the golden era of jazz, the 1920’s, 1930’s and 1940’s.

Flying Home
Flying Home is Seacoast Maine and Brooklyn, New York's premier Benny Goodman Ensemble. An instrumental sextet that also features special guest singers, Flying Home covers classic repertoire from the BG small ensembles from the Sextet, Quintet, Quartet, and Trio PLUS many big band hits of the 30s and 40s! A dynamic group of top Seacoast and NY players, the band, led by drummer John Mettam, takes listeners and dancers on a musical journey of the classic swing era with all the energy and excitement of a modern live ensemble!
Flying Home is Seacoast Maine and Brooklyn, New York's premier Benny Goodman Ensemble. An instrumental sextet that also features special guest singers, Flying Home covers classic repertoire from the BG small ensembles from the Sextet, Quintet, Quartet, and Trio PLUS many big band hits of the 30s and 40s! A dynamic group of top Seacoast and NY players, the band, led by drummer John Mettam, takes listeners and dancers on a musical journey of the classic swing era with all the energy and excitement of a modern live ensemble!