SIOUX CITY | After the first Drum Fest, Matt VanMeter knew he could see the competition grow even more.
The attendance numbers and participants’ responses were more than enough to convince him to try. VanMeter and fellow co-founder Eric Meek transformed what was a one-day drumming event into a nonprofit charitable organization known as Drum Fest Sux Inc.
This past year, the festival outgrew its original venue and moved to Eppley Auditorium on the Morningside College campus.
VanMeter said Drum Fest is starting to feel like “a real production” rather than just a few people getting together to play.
“Originally, we realized, wow, there are a lot of drummers here in town that come out to jam -- why don’t we see them?” VanMeter said. “Why not have a competition so they can come out, show their stuff and have some fun?”
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The daylong Drum Fest event serves as the organization’s year-end celebration and as a thank you to its supporters, as well as a chance for those who’ve taken free lessons from Drum Fest Sux Inc. to show what they’ve learned.
Drum Fest Sux Inc. has also reached out to other organizations to set up music programs and other activities.
In the summer, VanMeter and fellow drummer Risty Bryce didn’t know what to expect when they signed up for an afternoon of teaching some basic beats at Girls Inc. The drummers were met with a sea of children, swarming the stage where they had set up their equipment.
VanMeter is pushing for more inclusion by extending opportunities to girls and elevating the visibility of women in drumming through Drum Fest. In the past, the event has drawn one or two women to compete out of 40-50 participants.
“It’s a really low number and it’s not right. We’re hoping to get more interest. Even if we get one or two more girls, that would be awesome,” VanMeter said. “I just think the whole barrier is the fact that they only see boys playing the drums.”
That’s why organizers sought out a female drummer for the fourth annual Drum Fest and brought in Meytal Cohen, an Israeli-born drummer who now lives in California and has more than 900,000 YouTube channel subscribers.
Drum Fest carries out a mission to bring drums to everyone, and girls are one of the most underserved populations.
Eventually, VanMeter said, he would like to see Drum Fest Sux Inc. become a national organization with chapters over the country and hold regional competitions throughout the year in different parts of the country.
“The idea and the belief and the mission behind what Drum Fest is, is what keeps everything going. It’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears and people giving up their own time to make this all possible. To do that over a larger area -- even if we did this statewide -- would be quite phenomenal.”
