The Big Bang Festival of Rhythm is Ireland’s longest running intercultural festival (est. 1994).
5 weekends before the Big Bang Festival
Pre-Festival Workshops
African
Dance
Centre
Drumming & Dancing workshops
Drumming
Big Bang drumming workshops with Brian Fleming and Nicolas Severin
Dance
Big Bang Dance classes with Catherine Young (Catherine Young Dance) and Godfred Asare (African Dance Centre), with live drumming
Dates: Jun 20
Drumming – 12 noon
Dance – 1.30pm
Dates: Jun 27, Jul 4, 11, 18
Drumming – 10.30
Dance – 12 noon
Thursday 23rd July to Sunday 26th July 2026
Barn Concert
Gyan and Seema Singh with Floriane Blancke, Quentin Cooper and Brian Fleming
Times: 7pm
Dates: Thurs 23rd July
‘Fahafest’ Fahanlanachatamore, Miltown Malbay, Co Clare
Slí na croí
Workshop
Improvers / advanced workshop with Dartagnan Camara
Times: 5pm to 9pm
Dates: July 24th
Slí Roundhouse, Monasteraden, Co Sligo
Please contact Barra for bookings – [email protected]
Concert
Gyan and Seema Singh with Floriane Blancke, Quentin Cooper and Brian Fleming
Times: 6.30pm
Dates: July 24th
Lexicon Library, Dun Laoghaire
Drumming Workshop
Bang West African drumming workshop with Brian Fleming and Nicolas Severin, special guest Dartaganan Camara
Free – Places Limited
Times: 10.30pm to 11.30am
Dates: Sat July 25th
Richmond Barracks, Inchicore Dublin 8
Dance Workshop
Big Bang Dance classes with Catherine Young and Godfred Asare, with live drumming from Dartagnan Camara, Brian Fleming, Marillia Magalhaes and Nicolas Severin
Free – Places Limited
Times: 12.00pm to 1.15pm
Dates: Sat July 25th
Richmond Barracks, Inchicore Dublin 8
Concert
Dartagnan Camamara (Guinea) Gyan Singh and Seema Bhardwaj Singh (India), Slí Na Croí and Anitchie.
Tickets – 15 euro
Times: 8.30pm
Dates: Sat July 25th
Bernard Shaw, Drumcondra
Drumming Workshops at the National Concert Hall
Sunday 26th July 2026
Tickets On Sale
Tue 2 Jun 2026
Learn to play the West African djembe and dunduns of the Mandika people. In this workshop you will learn the basic sticking and hand techniques, how to respond to calls on the drum and how to bring up to 8 different patterns together to form an authentic traditional rhythm. Experience the excitement of over 30 drummers playing together in harmony.
Learn to play the Afro-Brazilian Maracatu rhythms of Brazil with Ireland’s longest running samba band. You will learn to play a range of percussion instruments specific to this tradition and experience the excitement of putting them together in a 30 piece percussion ensemble. No previous experience required.
Learn about the structures of classical Ragas, the basic Indian rhythmic patterns of Taalas and the complex rhythmic ornamentations, know as tihais. Renowned Indian tabla player Gyan Singh and singer Seema Bhardwaj Singh, in conversation with Brian Fleming, will guide you through the essentials of Indian music and rhythm. This workshop will include performance elements and audience participation for a deeper embodied understanding of the music.
This is a rare opportunity to learn West African drumming direct from the primary source. Dartagnan is a world-renowned expert in his native Mandinka drumming tradition. Ideal for those with some experience already in djembe and dunduns or equivalent percussion experience.
Thanks to our friends at the National Concert Hall for being part of The Big Bang Festival 2026
Suitable for beginners and improvers, this is a rare opportunity to learn from not only a great player, but a distinguished ethnomusicologist and composer whose own life story has been enmeshed in the evolution of the instrument. Mel’s Father Paedar was the original bodhran player with Ceoltóirí Chualann (later The Chieftains), who first brought the bodhran onto the stage in traditional Irish music in the 1960s. Mel continued in his father’s trailblazing role with the bodhran, most memorably in musical partnership with the late great musical pioneer Professor Micheál O Súilleabháin.
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