Post-sequester military bands playing the blues Posted at 12:36 PM ET, 03/05/2013 Members of the U.S. Army band, "Pershing's Own," at lighting ceremony of the 2011 Capitol Christmas Tree. (Alex Wong - Getty Images) The famed U.S. Army band, "Pershing's Own," canceled its anniversary concert last weekend at the Strathmore Music Center in North Bethesda and is preparing to cancel other concerts as a result of federal budget uncertainties. Strathmore, with 2,000 seats, "was going to cost $35,000 in rental and related costs," said Col. Thomas Palmatier, the band's leader. So they canceled, citing"limitations on government funds" on their Web site, and instead scheduled four concerts at their 350-seat hall at Fort Myer. All the band's concerts are free to the public. Other performances, either outdoors at the Capitol or on the Mall or where the venue is free, will continue, Palmatier said, and additional concerts - at places like the World War II Memorial - will be added. "We're doing everything we can to find every possible way to continue to provide service to Americans," he said, including webcasting concerts. Cutting hall rentals and other expenses would yield about $100,000 in savings, he said. All the military bands in the country and around the world are "in the same boat," Palmatier said. "We are all looking at reality" and "trying to make lemonade out of lemons," cutting travel costs and such. They are all doing the same thing. The Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, along with many National Guard units, maintain some 148 bands, with an estimated total cost of about $388 million a year. As we noted Monday, the Air Force has announced that it's halting flyovers at football games and air shows, at least through the end of the fiscal year in September. The Thunderbirds, the aerial demonstration team known for its dizzying tricks, will be grounded, too.