Drums of Navarone at Lake Harriet Bandshell (Aug 3, 2026)

There was one summer in college when a group of friends and I would go to the greyhound racing track Sodrac Park. My only method of picking the winners was based on the names of the greyhounds. I only mention this, because when I started covering shows for We Heart Music, I mostly picked the bands based on their name. No other research needed. And whereas my picks at Sodrac involved tearing up all my tickets, I’ve seen quite a few fun shows, which leads me to my favorite band name so far.

You can surmise two things with the band name Drums of Navarone:

The members of the band must be big fans of action movies, picking a great one for their band name.
They must be funny or at least corny to add a pun to the movie title.

I think they are both for they have a website that hypes each band member with legendary bios, they being:

Major Drake Hardcastle – guitar and vocals
Signori Zed – keys and vocals
Cesar De Leon – congas and bongos
Armando Cortes – bass
Sergio Ferreira – trombone
Oleg Valechenko – trumpet
Alexi Florakis – sax and flute
Devin Broadwindsor – drums

Drums of Navarone are local and they mostly play Afro and Latin music with a heavy dose of funk. Waiting for their show was a breezy affair with winds coming off Lake Harriet at a pace that would make wind surfers head for open water.

“Hello beautiful people,” greeted Hardcastle, as the band launched into their first song “Apache” then headed straight to Rio for “Maria Fumaca.” By the time they were in the middle of “Funky Cha Cha” the space in front of the stage started to fill with dancers, young and old, and very young and very old. There was a little salsa dancing for them. Then a cover of Santana’s “Change Your Evil Ways” followed by Lonnie Liston Smith’s “Expansion.” And before you knew it they took a break.

That’s what I love about these summer outdoor shows: the casualness of it. No rush to the bathrooms or concessions stand, band members forgoing backstage, instead mingling with the crowd, the steady breeze coming off the lake keeping the humidity and bugs away.

Eventually, Hardcastle wandered back onto the stage and said, “Will the members of Drums of Navarone report for duty.” Then it was another trip around the globe with songs from South Sudan and Cuba, and since we were at Lake Harriet they played a song about roller skating followed by some Boom Shacka Lacka. And with the sun setting and the clock reaching 9pm they finished the evening with their own funky version to the musical opening of 2001. As Hardcastle said, “We’ve been all over the world. So now it’s time to go into space.”

Once again picking a band solely based on the name had brought about a fun evening. Even with the bad jokes, this is a band that can play and can get you out of your seat. So if you are at the Minnesota State Fair on September 6 & 7, stop by the Summit Stage at the International Bazaar and get ready to dance.