Bands
Kettering was noted for the quality of its brass bands during the Victorian period. The first of these was the Temperance Saxhorn band which began in the 1850's. The Kettering Rifle Band and, from the 1870's, the Town Band were big rivals, though none of these took the honours in the first brass band contest held during the Feast in 1883. In 1894, however, the Town Band secured 4th place in the national contest in Manchester.