The dust has settled, the hall has been cleared and the sound of drums has stopped echoing around the hall. The Beat 2008 event was a great success this year. Check out what you missed below...
Five hundred drummers descended on the Sheffield Carling Academy for the Beat 2008 on Sunday 19 October to celebrate 21 years of Drummers Alliance with Toni Cannelli.
The Beat 2008 Young Drummer competition attracted entries from over the UK. This year we had just one age category (under 17yrs) and the standard of playing was truly outstanding to say the least.
Concord Street Noize, Sheffield based youth group gave a spectacular display of drumming which incorporated dramatic lighting and movement.
In association with Hardcase Eric Ward and the Scottish Pipe Drummers gave an entertaining performance and a breathtaking demonstration of rudimentary skills giving a fascinating insight into the world of pipe drumming.
The building was a shopping paradise for drummers with numerous trade and exhibition stands which added to the buzzing atmosphere of the Beat 2008 experience. There was everything from custom drum makers to Gamestation demonstrating all the latest drum related products for gamers.
Special guest drummer Pete Riley gave an extremely articulate performance and demonstrated he really is the master of hand and foot technique. Then the crowd realised why Pete Ray Biggin (the Beat 93 winner) seems to be getting all the gigs at the moment after he left the crowd breathless with his drum clinic. His blazing technique and massive groove was an inspiration to everyone at the event. Pete Riley and Pete Ray Biggin closed the afternoon of drumming with a mind blowing drum battle which sent the crowd into ecstasy.
We are proud to announce the Beat 2008 young drummer competition winner is Grant Kershaw (pictured below) age 16yrs from Manchester who performed a highly original solo with plenty of groove, feel and technique. He walked away with a full set of APX cymbals kindly donated by Sabian.
