It was standing room only at Bel Air's Tuba Christmas concert, perhaps the largest turnout yet for the town's version of the national all-tuba holiday show.
About 350 people packed the Armory to hear 66 tuba players perform Christmas carols early Sunday evening.
Conductor Randy Harrison said the huge turnout – last year's show drew 35 performers – was largely because Baltimore's Tuba Christmas was canceled by inclement weather earlier this month.
"I am hoping they come back next year," he noted.
The armory had seats for 250 people, so at least another 100 had to stand as the festive band performed Christmas classics such as "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "Joy to the World" and "Deck the Halls."
The tubas capped the night with a rendition of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
"It puts you in the Christmas spirit," Helen Green, of Bel Air, said about the show. "It's wonderful. We love it. We come every year."
About the large turnout, she added: "I have never seen it so crowded."
Green said she "of course" enjoys "Silent Night" and "Jingle Bells."
Jarrettsville's Yates Mormann, meanwhile, said she likes "O Holy Night," and "I never heard it on tubas before."
She was at the show with Pam Murray, also of Jarrettsville, and Murray's sons, Nicholas and Zachary.
Murray said they used to also go to Bel Air High School's Christmas performance, but now mostly go to Tuba Christmas to get their fill of carols.
"It seems like the season goes so quickly, you don't have a lot of time to enjoy things like this," she said.
Donna Decker, of Bel Air, was at the event for the first time with her daughter Natalie.
"I thought it would be a festive thing to do on a Sunday afternoon," Decker said, adding she enjoyed the show.
"I thought it was great, and I am glad to see all the community support," she said. She picked "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" as her favorite carol on the tubas.
"It was amazing," Decker said of the song. She also said the large turnout seemed impressive.
"It says a lot for the town," she said.