Mumbai to Host Drum Day on January 21st

Gino Banks

Drum festivals around the world have been pulling audiences for years, with Germany’s Meinl, Let It Roll in the Czech Republic and Outlook Festival in Croatia some of the biggest names in the business. India might not boast of many such events but the concept is definitely catching on. Last month, Pune hosted India’s first rhythm and percussion event, Dumru Rhythm Festival, over three days. It’s Mumbai’s turn to sound a drum roll now.

On January 21^st, the city will host a day-long event titled Mumbai Drum Day. Curated by ace drummer Gino Banks, the festival will feature some of the best talent on the Indian drumming circuit, including Ranjit Barot, Darshan Doshi, Jai Row Kavi, Andrew Kanga, and many more. They will be joined by Gary Husband, English jazz and rock drum legend and member of fusion guitarist John McLaughlin’s group The Fourth Dimension, who will be kicking off his India tour at the fest.

Says Banks, “Being a drummer myself, I always wanted bring something like this to India. The drums are a world instrument and it’s great to have a festival dedicated solely to them.” He adds that the festival’s lineup is as varied as possible to showcase different genres, from jazz and rock to Latin and funk. “Watching drummers play back to back lets fans see how differently each artist performs and how different their music is to one another’s.”

Mumbai-based Kavi, who is part of the lineup, says the festival has been a long time coming. And that its biggest USP is that it features some of the most versatile drummers from the industry.  “It’s just a perfect coming together of the drum community — drummers that play with all kinds of artists in India. The response so far has been great and things are only going to get bigger and better.”

While the festival will largely concentrate on drum ensembles and solos, there will also be performances with other musicians. Says Banks,“We have bassist Mohini Dey performing as part of an ensemble and Gary plays the piano too, so there definitely will be a couple of collaborations.”

The festival will take place on January 21^st 2016 at Nehru Centre, Worli.