Kaminari Taiko News Archive

This is an archive of the short news updates that we've posted to our site since September 2009. To stay up to date on current Kaminari news, check us out on Facebook or Twitter.

2011

October 20 - Enrollment for our Fall Adult Recreational Class starting October 29 is now open! Check out the Lessons page for more details and to sign up.

October 6 - Check out our updated Schedule page! So far Kaminari Taiko is scheduled to perform in New Orleans, Houston, and Bryan this fall.

August 17 - Advance reservations for seating in the covered area at the 2011 Grand Taiko Concert are now available! Click the Support tab at the top of the page for details.

July 13 - Our second Children's Taiko Class is scheduled to run for five Sunday mornings starting on July 31st. For more info, or to enroll a student in the class, visit our Lessons page.

June 30 - We've had such high demand for the Adult Recreational Class that we're squeezing in an extra run of the class from July 30th through September 3rd. Sign up today on the Lessons page.

June 22 - Due to increased interest, we may run a second Children's Taiko Class later this summer. Stay tuned to this website, Facebook, or Twitter for more information.

May 30 - There are still slots left in our Children's Taiko Class, scheduled to start this Sunday. The class will be held on five Sunday mornings from 10:00 - 10:50, from June 5th through July 3rd. The first day will start with a brief orientation at 9:45. The class is open to children ages 7-14, and the course fee is $100. For more information or to enroll your child, email Carmen Alvarez at alvarez12@slb.com.

April 25 - Enrollment for the Summer Adult Recreational Class is now open! If you want to have fun, get some exercise, and play taiko, this class is for you. No experience required. Check out the Lessons page for more info.

April 5 - Kaminari Taiko will not perform at the 2011 Houston Japan Fest. We regret this turn of events, and we apologize to fans who were hoping to see us this weekend. We would love to play for you, and believe us, we are even more disappointed than you are. We encourage you to attend the festival and enjoy all of the other great performances.

March 20 - We were honored this past weekend to host Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka at our dojo. We are only beginning to absorb all that he shared with us in such a short time.

March 17 - Our hearts go out to our friends and relatives in Japan, and to all of the people affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami. Click here for a list of organizations providing disaster relief in Japan if you'd like to donate to the relief effort.

January 18 - Our Spring 2011 performance schedule is filling up. Check out our Schedule page to see if Kaminari will be coming to a festival near you!

2010

December 2 - Introducing: Adult Recreational Classes! If you've always wanted to play taiko, but you can't commit to it long-term, or you're not interested in becoming a performer, try a six-week recreational taiko class! Our first rec class will be held Saturday mornings from January 22 through February 26. Click on the Lessons tab for more information and to sign up.

October 12 - Would you like Kaminari Taiko to perform at your next festival, party, or corporate event? We've streamlined our booking process by adding a Performance Request Form. To get started, fill out the form and email it to Kay Roberts.

September 25 - Two bits of news today: GTC 2010 T-shirts are now available in the online store, and the list of GTC 2010 contributors is posted here. Thanks for your support! September 20 - We're declaring GTC 2010 a success! Thank you to everyone who came out to the show - we had a blast, and we hope you did, too. Next up: New Orleans Japan Fest on October 9th!

September 17 - It's Grand Taiko time! Miller Outdoor Theatre has asked us to remind all ticket holders that you must be in your seats by 7:25 on the nose, or your seats will be released. No exceptions. We recommend planning at least ten or fifteen extra minutes into your schedule to find a parking spot. Enjoy the show!

July 29 - Now you can support Kaminari Taiko just by shopping at Kroger. Click here to download a barcode that will add KTH to your Kroger Plus Card.

July 20 - We're opening up seat reservations for GTC 2010 and launching our membership campaign today! Click on the Support tab and learn how to reserve your seats and/or become a Kaminari Taiko Supporting Member!

July 3 - Announcing the dates for this year's Grand Taiko Concert: Friday, September 17, and Saturday, September 18. Mark your calendars!

April 22 - The Dragonboat Festival has been removed from the schedule. We're as bummed as you are, folks. We hope to return to the Dragonboat Festival next year.

April 12 - Thanks to all our fans, old and new, who came out to see us at Houston Japan Fest! We had a blast, and we hope you did, too.

April 3 - Kaminari Taiko's online press kit is now live under the Press tab. We do enjoy a bit of news coverage every now and then.

April 1 - We've posted some video clips of last year's Grand Taiko Concert to our YouTube account. Check it out here.

March 30 - College of the Mainland International Festival removed from schedule.

March 25 - Our spring schedule is filling up! New performances added to the Schedule page: College of the Mainland International Festival on April 9, Houston Japan Fest on April 10-11, and Houston Dragon Boat Festival on May 1.

February 17 - New performances added to the Schedule page: Pre-show for Tao: The Martial Art of Drumming on February 27 and Borderfest on March 6-7.

2009

December 1 - The Kaminari Taiko online store is now live! Got any taiko fans on your holiday gift-giving list?

November 24 - Kaminari's fall performance season is drawing to an end. We'll spend the winter conditioning, writing new songs, and refining the numbers already in our repertoire. Look for us again in the spring - the first public performance currently on our schedule is the Second Annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Nashville, Tennessee, in March.

November 19 - ALERT: There's a 70% chance of rain in Alexandria on Saturday night, so the event organizers have advised us that they might move the show to an indoor venue. This is all we know right now, but if you're planning to go to the Alexandria show, keep an eye on our Twitter stream. We'll post the news as we learn it.

October 21 - New performance added to the Schedule page: Kaminari Taiko Concert in Alexandria, LA, on November 21.

October 8 - See a copy of the Consul-General's Commendation on the Community Outreach page.

September 26 - The first round of Grand Taiko photos have come in! Check them out under the Photos tab. Photographers: If you have photos from Grand Taiko or any of our other shows, we'd love to see them. Email webmaster@ilovetaiko.org.

September 19 - We broke our previous attendance record at Miller Outdoor Theatre, attracting an audience of 19,000 over two nights. Thank you to our amazing fans for your support!