Some of the American armed forces’s best musicians swooped into Snoqualmie to deliver a popping performance at Snoqualmie Point Park.

About 100 listeners relaxed on lawn chairs and blankets to take in the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West, which came packing serious hardware.

Of course, the band’s hardware has a decidely different purpose from the missiles and bombs bristling beneath a fighter-bomber’s wings.

With the Cascade mountains providing a backdrop, the band tuned up, and then, as a color guard from McChord Air Force Base carried in the flag, they kicked off with “The Star Spangled Banner.”

The day was declared “U.S. Air Force Band of the Gold West Day” in Snoqualmie by Mayor Matt Larson. Local veterans helped bring the band to the Valley.

The Valley was fortunate to host them, said Steve Fenton, commander of the Renton-Pickering American Legion Post in Snoqualmie.

“It’s fantastic — a professional, first class band,” he said.

The band, which has played with the likes of the Boston Pops and performs overseas, has a busy schedule.

One Air Force musician’s parents traveled from California to hear their daughter play, Fenton said.