Today the countdown is really on – there are just four weeks to go until the Encontro Street Band festival returns to Glasgow.

This is the third year of the Encontro and our home-grown street band celebration keeps going from strength to strength. We were excited to receive more applications than ever from around the world – it wasn’t easy to narrow them down and select just 17 to be part of the festival.

But what a 17 they are – we’ve got bands coming to Glasgow for the first time from Chile, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as from all over Scotland and the rest of the UK!

You can find out more about all of them by following Encontro Street Band festival on Instagram and Facebook - and it's the best way to share the excitement as we get ready for the festival.

Building international connections between bands, and strengthening the global street band community, is a hugely important part of the Encontro. All of SYB is buzzing to see old friends and make new ones - and for the first time ever there will be workshops for the performers to share skills and knowledge, and collaborate musically. As in previous years, there will be world premiere collaborations and performances for the public too – most excitingly the massed band performance which will feature all 17 bands and more in George Square in the afternoon of Saturday 27 July.

What’s happening at the Encontro this year?

• Friday 26 July 8pm @ Drygate: Friday night opening party for all the bands to get to know each other over a few caipirinhas. Family and friends welcome to join the fun (£5 on the door)
• Saturday 27 July 1pm @ George Square: massed band extravaganza (free!)
• Saturday 27 July 4pm-8pm @ all over Merchant City: Street Band performances (free!)
• Saturday 27 July 8pm-1am @ The Old Fruitmarket: Balkanarama vs Encontro, featuring La Tromba from Chile. Don’t miss out, buy your tickets now!
• Sunday 28 July 4pm-8pm @ all over Merchant City: Street Band performances (free!)

Hosting amazing street bands from around the world, and turning the streets of Glasgow into a carnival, is now firmly the highlight of the SambaYaBamba calendar. This year we’re teaming up again with Merchant City Festival, with the Encontro forming a major part of the MCF Programme.

Don’t miss the Encontro Street Band Festival – we’ll see you on the streets…