BOOM! A bangin’ international percussion festival is coming to Perth this month

In just a few short weeks Perth will play host to the only national percussion festival in Australia, BOOM! Festival of Percussion.

Hosted by WAAPA and presented by Percussion Australia, the second edition of the event beats its way into Perth from September 26-28, with concerts, masterclasses, community workshops, late-night events and more to explore.

An authentic testament to Australia’s multiculturalism, the event is a showcase of the diverse drumming and percussion styles from around the globe, with cultural roots in Asia, South America, Europe, and Africa.

There’ll be workshops in Japanese taiko drumming and Brazilian Samba, along with some late-night concert sessions performed by some of the country’s finest percussionists.

Among an array of highlights, you’ll also be able to catch Australia’s iconic percussion ensemble Synergy Percussion and a special festival work, “Point Line Area Time”, for thirty-six percussionists, directed by international guest artist from Switzerland, Fritz Hauser.

“Every culture on Earth has some kind of percussion or drumming,” says Artistic Director of BOOM!, Ian Cleworth. “There’s something deep inside us all that can’t resist the sound of a drumbeat. It makes us want to get up, dance, get involved. It frees us from our inhibitions and takes us out of ourselves.”

There’s plenty of opportunities to get amongst the fun too, with workshops led by inspiring teachers like experimental percussionist Thea Rossen (below), who will be running a community workshop to present a work played entirely on flowerpots as part of the opening event for the Festival!

The late-night program of musical curiosities includes a hypnotically immersive work of light and movement “Cosmic Time”, and a thumping celebration of the very latest intersections between technology and drumming at the closing party by DJ Rosie Taylor.

Check out the full program and find the beat for you at boomfestival.com.au.

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