Yamaha has launched a major new nationwide competition for young drummers through its network of UK drum dealers.
#FUTUREBEAT is open to drummers aged 18 years and under, offering a Yamaha Live Custom Drum Kit to the overall winner, professional development through artist mentoring sessions for the grand finalists and prizes for all regional finalists.
The winner will receive a Yamaha five-piece Live Custom Drum Set and hardware worth over £2300; regional winners will receive a Recording Custom Snare Drum worth £380 and regional finalists will receive a drum pedal worth £124.
To enter drummers simply send in an email with a link to a short video clip of their drumming performance to one of six drum dealerships:
Glasgow – futurebeat@drummersonly.co.uk
Newcastle – futurebeat@drumshop.co.uk
Manchester – futurebeat@manchesterdrum.com
Birmingham – futurebeat@pmtonline.co.uk
London – futurebeat@wembleydrumcentre.com
Bournemouth – futurebeat@absolutemusic.co.uk
From the video submissions, 60 young drummers will be selected to perform live on either a Yamaha Stage Custom or DTX Electronic Drum Kit at six Regional Finals that will each showcase 10 drummers. These drummers will play for up to a maximum of 10 minutes duration in front of audiences comprising family, friends and members of the general public. All regional finalists will win a Yamaha drum pedal and the Regional winners will each win a Yamaha Recording Custom Series snare drum.
Regional finals will be held throughout November at the following locations:
Tuesday 15th November Absolute Music – Bournemouth
futurebeat@absolutemusic.co.uk
Thursday 17th – PMT – Birmingham
www.pmtonline.co.uk/stores/birmingham
Tuesday 22nd – Drummers Only – Glasgow
Wednesday 23rd – Drum Shop – Newcastle
Thursday 24th – Drum Centre – Manchester
Tuesday 29th – Wembley Drums – London
futurebeat@wembleydrumcentre.com
The grand finals will be held on Saturday 10th December 2016 at Yamaha Music Europe HQ in Milton Keynes
The six finalists will each receive mentoring with some of the country’s leading professional drummers and have the chance to perform with a professional band, in front of a judging panel of industry experts. A selection of judges from the industry will decide the overall winner.
Yamaha’s drum marketing manager, Gavin Thomas, said: “We believe #FUTUREBEAT could become one of the most important drum events of the year. The UK has a lot of talented and aspiring drummers and we are giving them the opportunity for exposure in front of many influential industry figures. We hope it can help kick start many careers.
“I would sincerely like to thank all our participating drum dealers for dedicating their time and energy on this fantastic project also. The industry needs good local drum shops and we hope this project will also help to highlight and widen the awareness of these great partners.”
