The 40th annual Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), held November 11-14 in San Antonio, Texas at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, brought together over 5,000 percussion and drum enthusiasts from around the world along with top manufacturers and suppliers of all things related to the very rhythm of sound.
PASIC is an end-user/consumer-targeted show for the benefit of its members and those willing to pay the fee to attend and experience a micro-NAMM-style show just for drummers. At just under 100 exhibitors this year, the tradeshow floor was down five or six companies from last year, some of this is from the change in venue, but also due to consolidation of companies, distribution partnerships, and other factors that found companies sharing exhibit space.
The emphasis at PASIC for exhibitors is on showing the exhibitor’s wares primarily to educational institutions in attendance, along with hard-core drumming enthusiasts there for the seminars, jam sessions, first-look opportunities at new products, and the camaraderie of hanging around so many drummers in one location. The exhibits were largely hands-on for visitors, and earplugs were the freebie handouts of choice around the show for visitors from exhibitors.
Sessions for attendees covered a wide-array of topics including drumset; keyboard, marching, world, research, interactive drumming, health & wellness, electronic/technology, ensemble, and symphonic percussion. The PASIC15 Marching Festival also took place with categories that included “Snares and Tenors;” “Small Ensembles,” and “Multiple Percussion & Trumpet.”
Entrance to the show depended largely on what a visitor wanted to see and experience. A four-day pass providing Wednesday–Saturday access to all sessions, exhibit hall and Marching Percussion Festival was priced as high as $375 for non-PASIC members, with prices varying for members, fewer attendance features, or early registration discounts. VIP and All Access members receive significantly discounted pricing for 4-day and single-day passes, which include access to all clinics, concerts, meetings, expo, and Marching Percussion Festival. Those who wish to participate as part of the Marching Festival events, except DrumLine Battle, require Backstage Pass subscriptions. Tickets for individual sessions and concerts were also available for purchase, along with entrance to the International Drum and Percussion Expo, and subscription is not required for these individual purchases.
While the show has taken place from the east to west coasts over its forty-year history, since the turn of the century, it has remained largely in the Midwest and southern U.S. For only the second time since 2009 when the Percussive Arts Society made Indianapolis the permanent home of their museum, hall of fame and national headquarters, the convention was held outside of Indiana, and like the previous exception to Indianapolis, this show was also held in the state of Texas. The 2016 PASIC convention returns to Indianapolis, Indiana November 9–12, 2016. For more information, visit pas.org.
