In 2007, the Panoply Arts Festival proudly introduced Get Rhythm!®, an empowering, interactive event for the whole family which allowed participants to speak rhythm’s universal language by way of the 80-member drum circle.  Get Rhythm is now a mainstay of the Panoply Arts Festival, facilitated by Birmingham’s John Scalici, an artist in residence with the Alabama State Council on the Arts and nationally recognized as a speaker, musician, clinician and master teaching artist. The founder and owner of Get Rhythm!®, he achieved nationwide acclaim in 2000 when his Memphis-based blues rock band, “Junkyardmen,” was nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best Blues Album.”

John says, “The mission of all Get Rhythm!® programs is to empower its participants to discover the universal language of rhythm. All individuals are rhythmic and need only to have it uncovered from within…The drumming circle is the vehicle for the journey.”  The circle’s accessibility is the key wherein a “musical experience is utilized to produce non-musical outcomes.”

Described as “recreational music-making,” “an uplifting and reenergizing event,” and also a stress-reducing “healing practice,” Get Rhythm!® is always a great opportunity to immerse oneself in the dynamic beat of live drumming. Don't miss it!

The Arts Council salutes its 2011 Get Rhythm sponsor