The summer of drums is almost upon us...

The 2009 summer of drums is about to get under way with LIMS kicking off in just 23 days (and counting), with the Download and Isle Of Wight festivals opening their gates just a day later. If you have tickets for any (or you´re planning to attend all three), you´re in for a treat!

Once the dust has settled on those events we´ll be gearing up for Drumfest, taking place Sunday 12 July at the Birmingham NIA, which is set to be the biggest and best yet.

Now in its eleventh year, Drumfest has firmly established itself as one of the world´s premiere drumming events, and the only event in the UK to include a full retail village featuring all the major drum brands (Mapex, Tama, Sabian, ddrum, Stagg, Yamaha, Ludwig, Meinl, Paiste, Zildjian, DW, Aquarian, Remo, Natal, Roland and Gretsch). If you´re into drums this is the day for you take advantage of countless exclusive show deals.

But Drumfest isn´t just about the bargains, it´s also your chance to catch some major talent in the flesh and plying their chops live on stage, and this year´s line-up is exceptional:

Jason Bonham
Simon Phillips
Carmine Appice
Jason Bittner
*New Addition!* Gregg Bissonette
Jojo Mayer


Gregg Bissonette and Jojo Mayer are amongst the talent at this year's Drumfest

Jason, Simon and co. will be performing on the main stage from 12am until 5pm. Day passes are £15 with two day passes for both Sat 11 (for Guitarfest) and Sun 12th at £20 each.

Chris Barnes

I'm MusicRadar's eCommerce Editor. In addition to testing the latest electronic drum sets, it's my job to manage the buyer's guides on MusicRadar and help musicians find the right gear and the best prices. I'm a guitarist and a drummer and I've worked in the music gear industry for 19 years, including 7 years as Editor of the UK's best-selling drum magazine Rhythm, and 5 years as a freelance writer working with many of the world's biggest musical instrument brands including Roland, Boss, MusicRadar and Natal.