Our 15th annual DRUM CAMP Festival takes place on the 8th, 9th,10th,11th July 2010 

You can find the booking form and our easy-buy ticket ordering facility via the 'book now' tab opposite

Browse our pages for event info and artist updates, 2010 timetables, or scroll down for background history and how it all started. If you would like to contact us about our 2010 event, please use the contact us tab above. Thank you.

ABOUT US

A Celebration of Percussion, Voice and Dance from around the World.

A journey began some fifteen years ago to explore all forms of worldwide percussion music and culture - a journey which was to deliver a specialist music event, which has literally changed some peoples lives, and greatly inspired others.

Drum Camp was founded by Gary Newland, a percussionist, teacher and founding director of Music Worldwide. Together with an enthusiastic, and experienced group of friends, he staged the first Drum Camp in the summer of 1996. The event has since then become somewhat of an institution for many enthusiasts, teachers and Musicians, interested in learning the art of percussion, voice and dance from all around the world  .

Over the past 14 years of Drum Camp, the event has provided drumming workshops and performances in; Taiko, Tabla, Djembe, Sabar, Pan-logo, Samba, Bodhran, Darabuka, Bougarabou, Conga, Dhol, Bata, Drum kit, Djun djun, Pandeiro, Bendir, Cajon, and many other instruments such as; Didgeridoo, Gongs, Sitar, Balafon, Kora and Bull-roarer. We have presented dance classes in African, Flamenco, Egyptian, Cuban and many other forms, making Drum Camp rich in differing cultures and and celebration.  

Some of the many teachers and international artists that have taught and performed at Drum Camp include: Seckou Keita, Johnny Kalsi and The Dhol Foundation, Modou Diouf and Beugue Djamm, Salah-Dawson Miller and Saladin’s Orchestra, Mambo Combo, Mugyenko Taiko group, Danza Libre, Mog (Celtarabia and Celtica), Tim Garside (Natacha Atlas), Hossam Ramzy, Slow Train Soul, and The Baghdaddies amongst many other highly talented musicians and teachers

Drum Camp is a worldwide percussion and dance event. Some of the countries represented through the workhops and performances include: Brazil, Cuba, Ireland, Senegal, Ghana, Guinea, Japan, Egypt, Algeria, Morrocco, India, Australia and Native America, Peru and Spain. (There are many percussion instruments with unknown countries of origin that have been represented – these belong in a category of their own and reach back to our earliest known forms of music-making and ritual).

Drum Camp, has been the UK debut for some quite unique artist groups such as Beugue Djamm, a 9 piece Sabar orchestra from Senegal and, the Cuban contemporary and Folkloric dance company-Danza Libre. Through its strong international links and experience, it has been able to help artists such as Seckou Keita and Modou Diouf visit and establish themselves in the UK. This has, and will continue to be part of Drum Camp’s philosophy and aims.

Drum Camp is about quality rather than quantity, and restricts numbers attending to 350  adult tickets and 80 child tickets. This ensures the workshops offered are not over subscribed and give the ‘student’, and teacher, a rich and intimate experience, which is both enjoyable and educative.

Over the years, Drum Camp has created a network of like-minded contacts and collaborations throughout the UK and beyond. We hope you will enjoy looking through this site as a previous attendee or, as a newcomer to our event site. Please email us via the contact tab above if you wish to be added t our database. This gives us an opportunity to keep you regularly updated to all that is happening on the UK and international drumming circuits, and related events and courses.

Gary Newland, Drum Camp Founder