A few weeks back we got a tour of the Blue Man Group’s home base of the Charles Playhouse in Boston’s Theatre District. We’d never seen the show before, but our minds raced over what some of our favorite homegrown drummers, like Mean Creek’s Mikey Holland and Lauren Recchia of Petty Morals, could do in that setting. Nevermind the paint and all that jazz.
The drummers we envisioned on that stage, and pretty much anyone else in the city’s music scene, could take a step closer to making it a reality as Blue Man Group‘s Boston chapter has announced its first-ever Drum-Off competition. Five finalists will perform on the Fountain Stage at Copley Square during the upcoming Summer Arts Weekend on Saturday, July 26, and the winner will take home roughly $4,000 in prizes from Guitar Center, Sabian, DW, and others.
Full details on how to enter are below, but it’s simple: upload a video clip of your handiwork and sent it to Blue Man Group by July 16, and a group of semi-finalists will be selected to perform in front of a judging panel on July 25. Five winners will move on to play at Summer Arts Weekend, which also features live performances by Soul Rebels, Jesse Cook, Anne Akiko Meyers, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Emperor Norton Stationary Marching Band, and about a dozen others.
Here’s the word from Blue Man Group…
Blue Man Group Boston hosts its first Drum-Off Competition to take place during Summer Arts Weekend!
Seeking submissions from excellent and adventurous drummers!
Win over $4,000 in prizes from Blue Man Group, Guitar Center, Sabian, DW Drums, and Vic Firth!
All you need to do is send us a video of your best drum solo. We’ll choose a group of semi-finalists who will play for our judging panel on Friday, July 25th at the Charles Playhouse. The top 5 drummers will be selected as finalists and will each perform a 90-second session in front of a roaring crowd on the Fountain Stage during Summer Arts Weekend on Saturday, July 26. The judges and crowd reaction will determine our Grand Prize winner!
Sound easy enough?
Here are the submission rules:
1. Film a 1-2 minute jam session on a standard drum set
2. Upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo
3. Send your link to us via the submission form HERE.
Our selection panel will be on the lookout for the following criteria: Creativity, Technical Ability, and Musicality.
