DJEMBE-L FAQ USA West African Drum Circles

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GOAL:
To find and list all West African, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Haitian and other ethno-specific drum circles on Planet Earth for our subscribers, teachers, friends, dancers, etc., to be able to "plug-into our drum community," while traveling the globe. Jah Bless.

CLICK HERE TO ADD YOUR
Ethno-specific DRUMCIRCLE

Drum Free by Savannah Skye (reprinted with permission of the Author)
--------------
Oh drummers...
the call of the drum is calling me
The Call Of The Drum Is Calling Me
THE CALL OF THE DRUM IS CALLING ME

Tikky-tikky tak da-boom da-boom boom
Tikky-tikky tak da-boom da-boom boom
Tikky-tikky tak da-boom da-boom boom

So I must...

Oh drummers,
I must dance to her beat
I must dance to your beat
I must dance to Mother Gaia's constant beat

So all you drummers...

Drum free, drum free
Feel the heartbeat of Mother Gaia in your soul
With your hand's as the drum's sky above
while transfixed below by her rhythmic love

So drummers
Drum free, drum free
Keep the rhythm
Keep Gaia's rhythm going
Keep Gaia's rhythm flowing
Don't stop the rhythms of the Gaia
That fill us with nature's ecstatic elixir
that gives our souls a stir
That come from deep within the heart of her hearth

Keep going drummers
Drum free, drum free
Drum for Mother Gaia
Drum to Mother Gaia
Drum to Mother Gaia's rhythm
the rhythm of her heartbeat

Drum free, drum free
Tikky-tikky tak da-boom da-boom boom
Tikky-tikky tak da-boom da-boom boom
Tikky-tikky tak da-boom da-boom boom
Goes the heartbeat of Mother Gaia

Keep Gaia's rhythm drummers
Drum free, drum free
Keep Gaia's rhythm
Keep Gaia's rhythm going
Keep Gaias heart's rhythm going

Oh drummers
You must drum free
Drum free, drum free
Drum for peace on earth
Drum for love on earth
Drum for happiness on earth
Drum for Peace Love and Happiness on earth
You must drum til' we are all free

ss-04/23/2001

Breckenridge Drum Circle
THURSDAYS - 7 pm
S. Park Street
Riverwalk Center
Breckenridge, CO 80424
Contributor Email: Lisa Tunnell, lisatunnell@hotmail.com
West African: Yes
Cost: FREE
Directions:
>From Denver, take I70 to Frisco (about 1.5 hours) In Frisco, take Hwy 9 South to Breckenridge. Once you get to Breckenridge, take a Right on N. Park Street
Follow N. Park, past Ski Hill Rd, until you get to the Riverwalk Center, it will be on your Left. During the winter it has a large, pointed canopy over the top.
Drum Circle Description:
Began on June 5, 2003. Right now, it is a small group of players & dancers.

Storrs Connecticut.
MONDAY NIGHTS, 7 pm
University of Connecticut West African Drum and Dance Club. Drum and Dance Classes every Monday night, year round, beginning at 7 pm. Featuring Abdoulaye Sylla formerly of Les Ballets Africans, Guinea, West Africa.
For information call Charles Kaplan 860-429-7499,
email, cdk94001@uconnvm.uconn.edu.

1st & 3rd Tuesdays, 7:00-9:00PM:
There are free drum circles open to all ages and gender every Tuesday.
, Golden Hills Community Center in
2nd and 4th Tuesdays @6:30-8:30PM
Pitts Park in Clarkesville GA.
Call 706-839-1323 for more info. We strive to build a strong community through the drum and its rhythms. <thebeat@hemc.net>

*******************************************************************************
Saturday - 1st & 3rd @ Dark thirty - Atlanta
Lake Claire Land Trust
At the end of Arizona on the right
Down McClendon 2 lights off Moreland from Little 5 Points
Atlanta, GA
Other style drumcircle:      Just folks Playing
URL Map Location:
Facilitated by:               Open
Local drum circle focalizer: No permanent focalizer
Directions:

I-20 to Moreland. Go North to DeKalb. Turn Right. Go to Nelms. Turn Left and right immediately into the lot. Follow the trail up to the land trust.

Drum Circle Description:

The circle runs from dark (8:00pm approx. after the potluck) till midnight. The land trust is at the end of a cul-de-sac and the neighbors ask that participants park in the lot on the corner of Nelms/DeKalb.

For Sandpoint info on West African dance and drum, please contact Carrie drummagick@hotmail.com

Full Moon Drumming at Farmer Brown's - 6:30 pm
Corner of Chinden and Star Road
Boise, ID 83702 USA
Contributor_Email: www.boisedrumcentral.com
West African, Tribal, Rhythmaculture

Directions:

About Farmer Brown's. Rich Brown owns and operates Farmer Brown's Enterprises.

Farmer Brown's has a long term vision for their land that includes a healing center, a sustainable organic farm and a place to connect with the earth and land for our valley's diverse community.

Farmer Brown's currently offers carriage rides, a large heated barn for event use and a seasonal fruit stand and greenhouse.

More info? Contact FARMER BROWN'S: (208) 286-9319

Drum Circle Description: Full Moon Drumming Circle and Potluck

Call Drum Central to VOLUNTEER or for More Info - (208) 424-9519)

Farmer Brown's Barn
SW Corner of Chinden & Star Road
Every month ON the Full Moon

The Full Moon Drumming is facilitated by Drum Central and is intended to be a social gathering and an open free-form circle for anyone who likes drums.

The potluck portion of the evening (6:30 'til about 8:00) is a time when we gather up, introduce ourselves and share our food, our energy...OURSELVES!

Drinking water, punch and disposable plates, cups and utensils are provided; however, it does cut down on cost and waste if you can bring your own.

Admission is free, although a suggested donation of $2 or more is greatly appreciated.

Note: This is an all ages family event. No drugs or alcohol - please. Also, please leave dogs at home.

Thursday night 7:00
Field Museum on the Lake
Front In between sets of the Mass ensemble ( a really cool group
with dr

2650 W. Peterson
"the circle is West African influenced but there are still plenty of conga's, dumbek's, Taiko, etc."
check out the Rhythm Revolution Website www.drummingcircle.com
email John Yost for more info
Rhythm Revolution Chicago

Drum Circle Name: DRUM CITY Meets: Weekly -   Friday   7:30 PM
Address:                      GREEN BRIAR PARK
Location:                     2700 WEST PETERSON IN FIELD HOUSE OR OUTSIDE
Other type circle:           yes
Other style drumcircle:      ALL HAND DRUMMERS WELCOME
Facilitated by: CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT
URL: www.drummingcircle.com
Cost:                         FREE
Directions:
3 BLOCKS WEST OF WESTERN AVENUE ( 2400 WEST) ON PETERSON WHICH IS THE 5600 NORTH BLOCK
Drum Circle Description:
      OPEN CIRCLE OF HAND DRUMMERS WITH SOME DUN DUNS IN COMMUNITY SPIRIT WHICH HAS BEEN ON A WEEKLY BASIS SINCE 1996. BROOUGHT TOGETHER TO WORK WITHIN THE CITY LLIMITS. ALLOWING ALL THE CHANCE TO LEARN, PRACTICE OR JUST WATCH.

MONDAYS - MONTHLY - NEAR FULL MOON
Des Moines Drum Circle
1700 Woodland Ave
Location: Ancient Ways
Des Moines, IA 50309
STYLE: West African
Facilitated by: Jo Von Stein
Local drum circle focalizer: Jo Von Stein
Telephone: 515-280-3375
Cost: $5

Directions:
Take Martin Luther King Blvd. exit off I-235. Go south to Woodland Ave. Take a left.
Ancient Ways is on the corner of 17th and Woodland.
Drum Circle Description:
Drum and dance held near the full moon each month. Call ahead to confirm date and time.

Sundays: 3-4 PM
Gaia Community circle
DC_Location:
7725 W 87th St.
West African, Rhythmaculture
CommUnityContactPerson:
James Abbott
2927 Charlotte St.
Kansas City, MO 64109
HomePhone: 816-561-1811
E-mail addy:
West African Dance
E-mail: Check Kansas City Drum circle meetup

Day of Week Circle Meets: Sunday 7 pm
Drum Circle Name: Kalispell African Drum Group
628 4th Avenue East, Kalispell, MT 59901 (for mail)
Kalispell, MT 59901
West African:
Facilitated by: Craig Naylor
Local drum circle focalizer: Bob Sherrick
Email: drbobs@centurytel.net
Cost: FREE
Directions:
Email Bob Sherrick for location
Drum Circle Description:
Experienced and aspiring drummers of all levels are invited to
learn and play together traditional West African and contemporary rhythms on
the Djembe and Dunduns. We have extra drums, no experience necessary.
Check out our web site

MONTHLY - 1st FRIDAY - 7 - 9 pm
Community Drum Circle
Unitarian Universalist Church
274 Pleasant St.
Concord, NH 03301
Contributor_Email:           Gail Williamson - earthrthms@yahoo.com
West African:                 Yes
Facilitated by:               Gail Williamson
Local drum circle focalizer: Gail Williamson
Email: earthrthms@yahoo.com
Cost: donation
Directions:

Exit 14 off I-93, toward downtown. Take a left onto Main Street. Take a right at first traffic light (Pleasant St.). Go 2.5 miles, go through Concord Hospital light. Church is second driveway on right after light.

Drum Circle Description:

7-9 pm the first Friday of every month. Held outside if weather is nice. Afro-Caribbean rhythms used to start songs, then lots of improv. is encouraged. Donations for space are appreciated. Extra drums and "toys" are available.

This drumcircle has a definite West African leaning... most people have djembes... but its an open circle and in promoting it on our lists we don't classify it as african specific... As there is always a mix of regular attenders, occasional attenders and new people it alway has a somewhat different flavor.... not a stuctured circle....
For more info: Joachim <NJTouch@aol.com>

African Drumming Circle

Last Friday of Month - 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Event Location: Tribes Coffeehouse, 139 W. San Francisco, Santa Fe
Notes:
Greeting to everyone! i want to let you know of the Drum circle for this month at Tribes coffeehouse in Santa Fe, the circle is lead by Akeem Ayanniyi and agalu, the spirit of African drums in Santa Fe , come and enjoy yourself and have a beautiful evening with different kind of drummer around Santa Fe and outside of the state as well. The circle is open to everyone and is right at 139 west San Francisco St. bring your drums and any other musical instrument, the circle start at 6.30pm on Friday. Cover is $5. For more information please call 505 9820727,

Agalu- African drums and Dance Ensemble
Akeem Ayanniyi, Director
1631 Calle Sotero
Santa Fe, N. M 87507
505 982 0727
www.agalu.com

FRIDAYS 6:30 pm
Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
River Rhythms is a newly formed performance drum ensemble concentrating
mostly on West African percussion. We are led by RJ Perz-Edwards who is a student, teacher and craftsman in the local drum community. Open level and open to all.
4907 Garrett Rd
Durham, NC
Contact : "David Bowden" <dbbowden@mindspring.com>

http://www.egroups.com/group/RiverRhythms

Monday, 7:00 pm, Weekly
Music Explorium West African Drumming
403 Weaver Street
Music Explorium Community Music Room
Carrboro, NC 27510
Contributor_Email:           info@musicexplorium.com
West African:                 Yes
Facilitated by:               various teachers
Local drum circle focalizer: Andrew Munger
info@musicexplorium.com
919-969-8400
Cost: $5-$15
Directions:
on Weaver Street in Carrboro, between the Weaver Street Market and the Farmer's Market.

Drum Circle Description:

West African drum circle with various local teachers including Osei Appiagyei, Matt Savage, Sandy Blocker, and Andrew Munger. All playing levels welcome, a great place for beginners to learn the basics of West African drumming.

We also host master classes on the Second Saturday of every month.
2005 schedule is: Apr 9 Bolakada Conde w dance class by Ballet Warraba May 14 Beverly Botsford Jun 11 Mohamed DaCosta Jul 9 Fode Camara, with Dance class by Mamady Sano Aug 13 Lamine Soumah Sep 10 TBA Oct 8 TBA Nov 12 TBA Dec 10 Matt Savage

Drum Circle Description: Facilitated drum circle with some instruction in technique and rhythm. We play the 4th Sunday of every month, outdoors if it's nice, in if it's not! Come share the rhythm!!

FIRST AND THIRD THURSDAYS OF THE MONTH STARTING
4 FEBRUARY. 6:30PM until ??? 10-11??
COLONIAL COFFEE & TEA SHOPPE & POTTSTOWN PLAYHOUSE
310 HIGH STREET
POTTSTOWN PA 19466
OR E-MAIL WITTA101@AOL.COM FOR MORE INFO

TENNESSEE

FIRST SATURDAY - 7:30 pm
First Church Unity
5125 Franklin Rd
Nashville, TN
HomePhone: 615 317-3117
Community Contact: Ed Haggard
4208 Burton Hollow Rd
Whites Creek, TN 37189-9055
E-mail addy:
West African, Middle Eastern, Rhythmaculture

Drum Circle Name: Liberty Park
700 East 1300 South
Location: usually mid-east edge of park by big hill
Salt Lake City, UT USA
Contributor_Email:
West African: Afro-Cuban: Afro-Haitian: Afro-Brazilian: Tribal: Rhythmaculture: Middle-Eastern:
Other style drumcircle: everything and any rhythm that strikes us

Directions:

Salt Lake City streets are laid out on a grid of numbers and Liberty Park is a large park so it is fairly easy to find. It runs between the blocks of 700 East to 500 East and 1300 South to 900 South.

Drum Circle Description:

This is a long-standing drum circle in our community. For years, people have been gathering spontaneously in this park with drums, percussion instruments, wind instruments and anything else they can find. Drummers range from professional performers to children experiencing drumming for the first time. The time of 2:00 pm is an estimate. Some days we begin at 11:00 am and on others, not until 4:00. It just depends on when the people arrive. Join us when you are in town. We love having new energy merge with ours. That IS what all this is about, isn't it?

Drum Circle Name: Tri-Cities Drum Circle
417 Wright Ave
Location: http://www.thedrumcircle.org
Richland, WA 99301 USA
Contributor_Email:
West African: Yes
Afro-Cuban: Yes
Afro-Brazilian: Yes
Tribal: Yes
Rhythmaculture: Yes
Middle-Eastern: yes
Other type circle: yes
Other style drumcircle: Indian, Native American, Latin, Celtic
Facilitated by: Tri-Cities Drum Circle
Day of Week Circle Meets: Sunday
Time: 2 PM
3rd Sunday of each month
URL Map Location: http://www.thedrumcircle.org

Drum Circle Description:

Official website of the Tri-Cities Drum Circle serving central and southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon, 125 members strong, offering monthly jams, workshops, performance drumming opportunities throughout the year, and special drumming events every two months.

SEATTLE DRUM CIRCLES

To Be Listed Here: Send Happy your West African drumcircles info -
and if you could help us grow by making a $10.00 FAQ donation, it'll surely help us buy web space and do minor upgrades. Currently, drums.org is 150 megs.

Tuesdays 6:00-8:00 pm	Thursdays 6:00 - 8:00 pm	Saturday - Monthly 7:00 pm
Conga Workshop Address: 319 N. Carson Location: JAVA JOES CAFE Carson City, NV 89706 Contributor_Email: laura p. haugen/ Afro-Cuban Afro-Brazilian Rhythmaculture Other type circle Other style drumcircle: conga Facilitated by: ken strandenberg Local drum circle focalizer: laura p. haugen Telephone: 775-883-4004 Cost: $5.00 donation Directions: off hwy 395 across the street from the NUGGET Casino Drum Circle Description: please bring your own drums first 1/2 hour is technique the rest is conga rhythms from around the world	West African drum workshop Address: 312 S. carson Location: Comma Coffee City: carson city State: nv Zip: 89703 Country: u.s.a Contributor Email: laura p. haugen / West African Facilitated by: ken strandenberg Local drum circle focalizer: laura p. haugen Telephone: 775-883-2662 Cost: $5.00 donation Directions: off hwy 395 in between 3rd and 4th ave Drum Circle Description: first 1/2 hr is technique the rest is West African rhythms please bring your own drum	POTLUCK COMMUNITY DRUM CIRCLE Address: JAVA JOES CAFE 319 N. carson st. Location: upstairs City: carson city State: nevada Zip: 89706 Country: u.s.a Contributor_Email: laura p. haugen / West African: Yes Tribal: Yes Rhythmaculture: Yes Middle-Eastern: yes Facilitated by: bob Monthly: yes Other: every last saturday URL Map Location: Local drum circle focalizer: Telephone: 775-883-4004 Cost: donation $3.00 submit: Submit Directions: off hwy 395 across the street from the NUGGET casino Drum Circle Description: anywhere between 15-50 belly dancers, fire dancers, and drummers. Please bring your own drum, however we have a couple xtra and we share. also we encourage people to bring a food or beverage to share.