TWO mighty forces of drumming will combine in a first-time earth-shaking taiko concert tour coming to Weymouth Pavilion on Thursday May 26.

Mugenkyo and Tokara are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their first meeting by sharing the stage and bringing a new dimension to Mugenkyo’s popular stage show.

Mugenkyo are the UK’s most successful touring taiko group, renowned for their high-octane energy, contemporary look & sound, and gritty passionate style.

For this tour, Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers have collaborated with long-time friends from Japan, Wadaiko Tokara. Mugenkyo founders Neil Mackie and Miyuki Williams and Tokara founder Art Lee first met and performed together 20 years ago at the first European Taiko Festival in Dusseldorf and have since revisited their friendship, performing together in Japan for the Saiwai Shimoina Taiko Festival and now for a 15-date concert tour of the UK.

Mugenkyo is the leading taiko group in the UK, founded in 1994, performing thousands of shows at theatres and concert halls and also at festivals such as Glastonbury, London Jazz Festival, sporting events such as the FA cup final, Formula One and Rugby World Cup, and television appearances such as the Brit Awards, the Generation Game, and even a Bollywood film.

Collaborations include: with violin, piano and voice for the BBC World Showcase, with fiddle, tabla & Indian dance for the Edinburgh Mela Festival, with Scottish bagpipes for the BBC Last Night of the Proms, with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra for a series of concerts around the UK, as well as working alongside many prominent taiko artists.

Wadaiko Tokara, based in Nagano Prefecture Japan, is widely recognised as one of Japan’s most exciting professional taiko groups, with a distinctive style characterised by their superb skill and power.

Founder and artistic director Art Lee is renowned for being the very first to be awarded an artist visa to teach Taiko as a professional Taiko artist in Japan, and is also the first and only non-Japanese to be crowned Solo Grand Champion of the world’s most prestigious taiko competition in Tokyo.

After performing with top Japanese groups Za Ondekoza and Osuwa Daiko, Art founded Wadaiko Tokara in 2003, who have gone on

to tour extensively throughout the world.

The show begins at 7.30pm. Contact Weymouth Pavilion box office for tickets.

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