For Musician Leading Seaman Maggie James, being centre stage is commonplace as one of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Band’s four full-time vocalists. 

Yet for the Tassie singer, not all performances are created equal.

Recently, she travelled to New York to perform with a handpicked Navy rock band, taking part in the US Navy’s International Naval Review 250, the centrepiece event of the US’s 250th anniversary celebrations of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

“When we first heard about the trip to New York, we were all so excited,” Leading Seaman James said.

“Representational deployments like this are rare and highly sought-after, so we all felt that we needed to bring the best musical product possible to represent Australia in our performances.

“The band have come together from Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and the Shoalhaven.

“Band members have all put in extra time, rehearsing on weekends and producing backing tracks out of hours.”

The event was hosted in the Port of New York and New Jersey from July 3 to 8. At its peak, ships from more than 30 nations brought more than 15,000 sailors and officers to the Hudson River and into Manhattan.

'Our didgeridoo players performed first, and the patrons were overwhelmingly supportive and enthusiastic ... then the band led the entire pub singing a rendition of Waltzing Matilda.'

“Not many musicians get to say that they performed in the middle of Times Square,” Leading Seaman James said.

“It was just so exciting and the atmosphere was electric.”

Leading Seaman James joined the RAN Band Tasmania in 2018 as a reserve member while studying a Bachelor of Music in Classical Voice at the University of Tasmania.

She decided to pursue a full-time career in the band, serving in RAN Bands Sydney and Melbourne, and again in Tasmania as the operations manager and acting bandmaster respectively.

She performs across most of the RAN Band’s ensembles, and her favourite part is being able to sing different styles.

During the band’s visit to New York, they joined the US Navy Band and the Band of His Majesty's Royal Marines for an open-air concert at the Seaport Museum.

The band then performed to a full house Old Mate’s Aussie pub in the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup  match between the Socceroos and Egypt.

“Our didgeridoo players performed first, and the patrons were overwhelmingly supportive and enthusiastic,” Leading Seaman James said.

“Then the band led the entire pub singing a rendition of Waltzing Matilda.

“It was an absolutely amazing experience.”  

Leading Seaman James has travelled widely during her Navy career, performing at Gallipoli in 2024 and Villers-Bretonneux in 2025, as well as domestically at official Anzac Day dawn services and ceremonies, including the NRL Anzac Round.

'It was just so exciting and the atmosphere was electric.'

Her most memorable deployment was on board US Naval Ship Mercy in 2023-24. She spent four months as a member of Pacific Partnership with the US Pacific Fleet Band, during which she performed in 56 public events across four Pacific island nations.

Even with a wealth of deploying, travelling and performing behind her, Leading Seaman James said the New York performances were in her top three of all time.

“The energy here has just been amazing,” she said.

“It’s been wonderful to see how much everyone is enjoying being here and soaking up our performances.

“Although the Anzac ceremonies in Gallipoli and France mean the most to me of all, performing here as part of America’s 250 has been absolutely incredible.”

Leading Seaman James looks forward to completing a Graduate Diploma of Psychology this year, and hopes to continue travelling and performing with her RAN Band colleagues for years to come.

To find out more about joining the RAN Band, check out its website.