Ask a room full of drummers to name the players who changed everything, and the list fills up fast with plenty of names. Bonham. Charlie Watts. Ian Paice. Phil Collins. Bill Ward. Mitch Mitchell. Gavin Harrison. And Ringo, who learned to play about twenty minutes from the show floor.

Whatever you play, somebody from the UK probably got there first and made it look easy.

That’s the reason we threw in our sticks to be the title sponsor this year, and it’s the reason we’re not just showing up with a banner. Liverpool has produced more drumming history per square mile than almost anywhere on earth, and the UK Drum Show is where that community actually gets in a room together. We want to help it grow. We want the kids who wander in on Saturday morning to leave having played something, met somebody, and decided this is their thing.

So here’s what we’re bringing.

The Learning Lab, with Alesis

A space built for playing, not watching. Over ten kits set up with headphones and Drumeo loaded up ready to go. Sit down and explore on your own, or jump into one of our live 15-minute guided workouts, running almost every half hour from 10 am to 6 pm on both days.

That’s 32 sessions across the weekend with Drumeo personalities Jared Falk, Brandon Toews, Dave Atkinson, Kyle Radomsky, Domino Santantonio, plus guest workouts from Zack Grooves, Ash Soan and Glen Sobel. Bass drum independence. One-handed 16ths. Shuffle feel. Pick whatever’s been bugging you and give us fifteen minutes.

Brandon Toews, Main Stage, Sunday 2:15 pm

You’ve almost certainly watched Brandon before. He’s the one behind our Hears A Song For The First Time, and the one taking apart Bonham, Keith Moon and Danny Carey in The Genius Of. On Sunday, he does it live.

Four pieces, an open solo, and a game. Brandon hides “drummerisms” in his playing, the signature grooves and fills of the greats. Spot one, and you could walk away with something signed by that very drummer. Chad Smith, Steve Smith, Phil Collins, Mike Portnoy and Nicko McBrain have all put their names to prizes. There’s a live Q&A too, so come with questions.

His actual kit. The Gretsch Renown in gloss cherry, the Istanbul Agop cymbals, the hardware, the mics. It’ll be on display near our booth all weekend so you can have a proper look at what’s up for grabs.

We draw it live at the Drumeo/Alesis Learning Lab on Sunday at 5pm, streamed on Instagram, winner picked on the spot. You need to be at the show to take it home.

We are thrilled to see you at the show, so come and say hello, play something far too loud, and let’s make some noise together!