Rock ‘n’ roll, Brazilian style: Hundreds participate in the largest drumming concert in the Americas

Hundreds of drummers set up their kits in a semi-circle around a big stage.

Xandeco Azevedo put his retro electronic Yamaha drum kit through the motions ahead of the show. He’s been playing drums since he was 8 years old. Today, he’s nearly 50.

Azevedo has been participating in the Orquestra De Baterias, where hundreds of drummers perform together in the southern Brazilian city of Florianopolis annually. It’s the largest drumming orchestra in the Americas and the largest annual drumming event in the world. Over the weekend, 400 drummers played together as thousands of people turned out to listen to the rock ‘n’ roll show.

“This is my ninth time participating,” Azevedo said. “I only missed the first one and one during the [COVID-19] pandemic.”

Drumming is his main gig, but this orchestra is not just for professionals. There are drummers in the crowd from the very young to the very old.

Giovanna Albuquerque was near the back. She is only 13 but has already been participating for six years.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Albuquerque said. “It’s marvelous seeing everyone playing together and so well.”

Organizer Paula Borges started organizing the event in 2013 as part of a city program called “Cultural Marathon.” She calls it the largest multicultural event in the state of Santa Catarina—it began with only 35 drummers the first year—before it became the largest in the world.

“We never imagined it would grow to this size,” Borges said. “It started tiny, and it was already incredible because drums really fill a space. But now, we have drummers coming from more than 50 different cities, and it’s so cool.”

Both foreign and Brazilian rock are huge in Florianopolis. João Moura Lima was in the crowd with his wife and 3-year-old son, who was wearing large black headphones to protect his ears from the noise.

Lima said Brazilian rock and heavy metal bands like Sepultura are well-known abroad.

“Dave Grohl, the drummer for Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, is even a big fan,” Lima said.” So, Brazilian rock has a lot to offer.”

A band on stage fronted the 400 drummers and their kits. The players had been practicing the repertoire at home — from YouTube videos — for weeks. All of the songs were covers of famous bands, with several songs from famous Brazilian rock musicians: Outros Bárbaros, Charlie Brown, Jr. and NX Zero.

Drumsticks could be seen beating in unison, with the players’ heads bouncing, like a huge Brazilian samba band with drum kits and rock music.

The crowd and the drummers loved the experience.

“This is a celebration,” said Henrique Boaventura Vieira, a 46-year-old lawyer who started drumming four years ago. “No one cares if you screw up. No one can hear the mistakes.” 

He added the most important message is that anyone can be a musician. You just need to play and enjoy it.