ABSTRACT
Drawing upon ethnographic fieldwork with marching flute bands in Northern Ireland and upon Bourdieu’s aesthetic theory, the article will show how the rigidity or fluidity of the separation between “rehearsal” and “performance” is a function of class dynamics and consequent power relations within bands and between band members and the wider society in which they are embedded. In class-stratified societies such as Northern Ireland, class and locality are deeply entwined. Whilst marching bands are strongly identified with particular well-defined localities, they often attract members from further afield. This article shows that who plays with what band is as much a function of class habitus as it is of residential location.
