In Africa, when you hear drumming in the distance, you know there is something happening, and your curiosity is awakened, your pulse speeds up. The effect of the drumming is a synchronization of energy, a unity and a common purpose. When you hear the rhythm of the group drumming and contribute your beat, you are listening and playing, receptive and creative at the same time.

The Drum Café will bring this powerful African method to the Southern Drakensberg on Saturday 26th April and Sunday 27th April. There will be three drumming sessions a day, one for children, one for adults and a jam session for all the musicians at the festival not only to drum but also to bring their musical instruments and join in the drumming session.


What is a drumming circle?

Warren from The Drum Café explains?

We arrive at Splashy Fen a while before the first drumming session. To the surprise of the people, we start unloading drum after drum and by the time we get to 50, somebody asks, 'Who is going to play all those drums? 'We say '50 Splashy Fenners!'

We unpack the 50 drums and form a circle of chairs. We start playing, and people hear the drums calling them. People make their way to the marquee and when they walk in, they cannot believe their eyes when they find 50 drums laid out on the seats, and this amazing drumming music filling the marquee, being played by our team. Slowly, people find their way to their seats, all staring at each other with embarrassed smiles on their faces, not knowing really how to deal with the drum that is now in their lap.

Tentatively, a few brave individuals start banging away, one even gets caught up in the mood and jumps into the middle of the circle for a quick dance to the wild applause of his mates.

Then, without saying a word, our facilitator gets up and starts to orchestrate the group with a massive repertoire of body language signals, bringing the 50 entry-level musicians into perfect harmony.

This is the beginning of the magic of The Drum Café drum circle.

50 people, not one word spoken and there they are working in perfect unity and synchronization. Over a one-hour period, we introduce percussion instruments, Boomwhackers, sometimes fire jugglers, dancers and didgeridoo players, all the time finding a way to keep the energy up, and to keep everyone engaged.

Participating in the drumming circle is an intensely unifying experience - people are liberated by the small barrier they have to cross to become performers rather than spectators, and lightened by the stress release that drumming has been offering mankind for many thousands of years.

...read the 2003 programme >>