Festival can’t be beat

By Nicole Williams
GET ready to feel the rhythm.
Drum Festival 2011 hits Dandenong on 18 and 19 March thanks to the Drum Theatre, City of Greater Dandenong and VicUrban.
The two-day festival will include evening events, free performances, workshops and a community jam.
Taikoz will open the festival on Friday night with a performance of their newest work, ‘Shifting Sands’ followed by DJ Mr Fish in the Drum Theatre foyer.
Tickets for the opening night are $17.50 and can be booked through the Drum Theatre.
Other performers include Batacuda Band and Colin Bogaar with Dandenong school children, local hip-hop crew DMP, Australia’s first hip-hop choir Massive and Grrilla Step will take out the festival on Saturday.
John Butler Trio drummer and solo musician, Nicky Bomba, will be performing and leading the community jam on Saturday.
He is currently on his solo tour, ‘Planet Juice’, and said the Drum Festival was a good opportunity to connect with other drummers and the Dandenong community.
“It (the community jam) will be really interesting and fun,” he said.
Nicky will be joined by The Family Band and said he likes to make his performances a celebration so people can expect positive energies and good rhythms.
“I am really looking forward to playing for some like-minded individuals,” Nicky said.
“If people can’t play, they can dance instead.”
He encouraged people to bring anything they can play to the community jam, even if it was a drum, cowbell or pots and pans.
Two drum workshops will be offered on Saturday at the Drum Theatre by Ray Pereira and David Jones.
The workshops are free for Greater Dandenong residents or $45 for non-residents.
For more information on Nicky Bomba visit www.nickybomba.com or for more information on the Drum Festival visit www.drumfestival.com.au or call 9771 6666.