A new beat beckons for Drum Up JB!

 

If you have experienced the Drum Up JB shows in 2023 and 2024, then you cannot miss the dramatic Drum Up JB shows in 2025, presented in a fresh new theme dubbed, Drums: A New Beat Beckons.

 

Expect dramatic scenes such as this in
Drums: A New Beat Beckons

In a bid to establish Drum Up JB as a permanent cultural attraction at the Permaisuri Zarith Sofiah Opera House, a series of fund-raising shows will be staged in evening and matinee shows from Friday to Sunday, September 12 to 14, 2025.

 

I had the pleasure to experience the successful shows at the Opera House in 2023 and 2024 and was pleased to observe that Drum Up JB has grown beyond just a percussion troop as this show even earned the prestigious Trip Advisor’s Traveller’s Choice Award in 2024.

 

Drummers expressing shouts
of enthusiasm in part of their performance 

By covering their events and publishing reports in the English media, it was my privilege to walk alongside the 24 Festive Drums in their journey of drumming that started in Foon Yew High School in Johor Baru and saw how this art of drumming gradually spread nationwide and was also exported abroad.

 

I learnt that when the young drummers furthered their studies at universities abroad in the UK, US, Australia, China and other countries, they brought along their passion for drumming and established drum troops there.

 

Expect a spectacular show at
Drums: A New Beat Beckons

This dramatic art of drumming was literally exported back to China when the drum troop from Foon Yew High School proudly staged a performance of the 24 Festive Drums at Teochew City and Beijing in China on their first visit there in 2008.  

 

In 2010, I also had the pleasure to witness the first National Drums Competition and International Drums Festival that was organised and hosted in JB, the hometown of the 24 Festive Drums.

 

The success of the International Drums Festivals held bi-annually in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018, earned the reputation as the most important drumming event in the world.

 

The art of the 24 Festive Drums was
proudly born in Johor Bahru

This performing art continued to be actively promoted and developed by younger generation drummers and professional drum troops like HANDS Percussion, Orang Orang Drum Theatre and the JB Drums.

 

Drum Up JB was formed in 2023 by Orang Orang Drum Theatre and JB Drums as a new entity aimed at preserving and sharing the cultural artform of the 24 Festive Drums, in the heartland of Johor Bahru where this performing art was born.

 

When they were touring together in 2017 across eight folk festivals in France, the members of these two drum troops performed collaborative pieces together, one of which was, “The Memories,” a story of ancestral migration and cultural identity, a dramatic piece that will also be showcased in “Drums: A New Beat Beckons.”

 

In 2019, while I was working on the manuscript for the third and final instalment to complete the trilogy of My Johor Stories, I decided to document the Art of the 24 Festive Drums in My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now, among the brands that were proudly established in Johor, spread nationwide and was later exported abroad.

 

After my book was launched in December 2022, My Johor Stories had the privilege to proudly compliment the Art of the 24 Festive Drums when the Drum Up JB shows were presented at the Opera House in 2023 and 2024.

 

Get your tickets for the shows
presented from Sept 12 to 14

Now in 2025, Drum Up JB has taken on the mantle of cultural activists who are intent on preserving and sharing the 24 Festive Drums artform, not just locally but all across the globe. To date, over 600 drum troops have been established across Asia, Europe and North America and even in Africa.

 

“Many Malaysians may not be aware that the 24 Festive Drums was founded right here in Johor Bahru in 1988 by Tan Chai Puan and the late Tan Hooi Song,” says Lee Sheah Liang, one of the panel advisors for Drum Up JB.

 

On 14 February 2009, the 24 Festive Drums was honoured as a Malaysian National Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage.

 

Lee was also very excited with the Malaysian government’s nomination of the 24 Festive Drums for the 2026 UNESCO Intangible Heritage List.

 

Working together again with Director Yeo Lyle who steered the artistic direction of the 2024 shows, the new show in “Drums: A New Beat Beckons” aims to honour the cultural roots of the 24 Festive Drums while incorporating contemporary elements that make this a uniquely Malaysian performance.

 

Come and witness how this Johor-born
art of drumming has captured the imagination
of drummers around the world

“In our past performances, we have had thousands of audience members spanning all ages and embraced by Malaysians of all ethnicities, which is truly heartwarming,” said Lee.

 

“We hope this year’s performances will help us raise enough funds so we can become a permanent performance at the Opera House, just like watching ‘The Lion King’ in Broadway, or ‘Les Misérables’ in West End. So when you visit Johor in 2026, you have to come watch Drum Up JB at the Opera House,” he added.

 

“Drums: A New Beat Beckons” is a Malaysia Madani Initiative, supported by MyCreative Ventures, Digital Districts, 24 Festive Drums Association Malaysia, and Cloudjoi.

 

“Drums: A New Beat Beckons” runs from 12 - 14th September, 2025 at the Permaisuri Zarith Sofiah Opera House. Tickets are available via Cloudjoi.

Note: Photographs of performances are used courtesy of Drum Up JB!