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| Chris Coleman performs during 2019 Seoul Drum Festival held in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's headquarters in the city's Jung District. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government |
By Ko Dong-hwan
A number of drummers of international fame will visit Seoul this month to demonstrate their exceptional percussion skills during the "Seoul Drum Festival" to be held on June 17-18 at Nodeul Island on the Han River. The 24th annual event will see gospel drummer Eric Moore, British rock band "Lower Than Atlantis" drummer Eddy Thrower, R&B drummer Gerald Heyward and metal drummer Alexis Von Kraven hit the stage.
Playing a session each day during the festival, the guests will play alongside seven Korean star drummers, including Kim Soo-joon who has produced albums for hip-hop duo Leessang, seasoned soloist Yoon Sang and other musicians; Kim Seul-ong and Jang Won-young from TV rock band competition show "Super Band 2" on JTBC; and Lee Geon-tae who plays for rock band "The Great Birth" fronted by one of the country's most iconic singers Cho Yong-pil. Three winners of a drum competition held here the previous year will also join the festival as Korean representatives.
Heyward, on the sideline, will offer a master class for those who sign up at the festival's homepage, demonstrating his deep knowledge and technical skills he has used to perform with globally renowned popstars like Chris Brown and Beyonce.
Prior to the drummers' performances, the festival will host the final round of a drum competition it held this year, as the festival has been providing local drummers a rare chance to shine in public. A total of 193 participants competed in a preliminary round held online on May 21 with 15 winners advancing to the next round. They competed at Live House on Nodeul Island, Saturday.
Moore joins as one of the judges to select a final winner from the finalists, who will be chosen also based on a real-time online poll starting at 6:30 p.m. on June 17.
This year's festival is held offline for the first time in three years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the event to move to an online setting. The online festivals streamed foreign artists live from overseas performing for the online audience. The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Culture and Art Division, which organized this year's festival, introduced the festival's slogan "Wave With Drum" on Wednesday.
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| KJ Sawka performs during 2019 Seoul Drum Festival. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government |
The festival, Seoul's leading outdoor music event, was first held in 1999, originally promoting itself as an experimental showcase of drums and Korean percussion instruments like Korean drum "buk" and others used in Korean instrumental folk music performances of "samulnori." From 2014, it started specializing in modern drums by inviting foreign drummers to bring more "western" elements to the table. Dave Weckl (2021), Ronald Bruner Jr. (2021), Tony Royster Jr. (2021, 2015), Thomas Lang (2020, 2014), Robert Sput Searight (2017) and Jojo Mayer (2016) are among the festival's famed guest performers.
The festival also attracted professional drummer-aspirants through hosting competitions since 2017. Each year seeing over 100 to 200 participants, more than 1,000 drummers have competed in the festival since its inception.
Joo Yong-tae, the chief of Culture Headquarters under the city government, said the festival's beats will hopefully excite people who couldn't enjoy cultural events because of the COVID-19 pandemic that enforced social distancing among members of the public.
Slated by the Seoul government as the city's signature "non-verbal" music festival, Seoul Drum Festival is an open event for all visitors free of charge. Its main events will be streamed live on YouTube and Naver TV.
The Seoul government says Seoul Drum Festival is different from other global drum festivals ― like "Meinl Drum Festival" in Germany, "Drumeo Festival" in Canada, "The UK Drum Show" in the United Kingdom and "Hong Kong International Drummer Festival" in China ― each of which has a "commercial purpose," according to the authority.
"Our festival, organized by the Seoul government, is a non-commercial event for members of the public, which has a unique value in it," Joo said.
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