Roland V-Drums World Championship 2

Roland’s annual V-Drums® World Championship contest gives drummers a premier opportunity to explore their musical passion. Nearly 5,000 participants competed during the preliminary rounds in 2012! Each year, thousands of performances around the world feature musicians using TD-30KV, TD-15KV and TD-11KV drum kits and the OCTAPAD SPD-30 digital percussion pad. This year’s grande finale event will be streaming live on the V-Drums contest website, Thursday, April 11, 2013, starting at 10:30 a.m. PDT. The live broadcast will feature 16 international V-Drums finalists, behind the scenes interviews, expert judges and a performance by The Intersphere.

Why go with electronic drums? Read the benefits here.

Former U.S. national semi-finalist Patrick Kennedy has been training extensively after earning his chance to compete in the finals. “It was an honor to participate in the V-Drums national competition,” Patrick said. “I had an amazing time getting to hang out and talk with Thomas Lang and Johnny Rabb, as well as all of the other contestants.” Kennedy won a TD-30KV V-Drums set and other prizes from REMO, DW, Vic Firth, and DRUM! magazine.

An elite roster of judges will crown the 2013 V-Drums king based on the following: playing technique, musicality, groove, creativity, entertainment value, playing tricks, and precision. All experts in the field of electronic percussion, this year’s judges panel includes Dirk Brand, Craig Blundell, Tommy Snyder, and Florian Alexandru-Zorn, Mark Van Schaik, Rich Chamberlain, and Axel Mikolajczak.

Roland on Stage With American Idol

“It has been amazing seeing so many talented drummers taking their talent to the next level with electronic percussion, ” said Roland Percussion Group Strategy Manager Drew Armentrout. “The way these drummers perform is truly inspiring, and I can’t wait to watch the finals.”

Visit the international V-Drums contest page for more details! Or, follow the Twitter conversation via #vdrumscontest.

Live Streaming: 
April 11, 2013 – 10:30 AM PDT

V-Drums World Championship 2012

Related links and articles:

• Pat Kennedy V-Drums Training Camp
• Brendan Buckley Judges V-Drums Semi Finals
• Meet the V-Drums U.S. Finalists
• The Benefits of Electronic Drums

JUPITER Synth Legends Volume 1 honors these seven legendary Roland instruments from the 1980s:

• JUPITER-8 (1981)
• TB-303 (1982)
• SH-101 (1982)
• JUNO-60 (1982)
• JUPITER-6 (1983)
• JUNO-106 (1984)
• D-50 (1987)

Download the free sound libraries here: www.JUPITER-80.com.

In honor of this release, Roland is also hosting the Roland JUPITER #SynthLegends Giveaway. Synth fans in the U.S. can enter the contest for a chance to win a JUPITER-50 fully pre-loaded with JUPITER Synth Legends Volume 1. Feel free to join us @Roland_US on Twitter using the hashtag #synthlegends to share your all-time favorite synthesizers and synth sounds. We’d love to hear from you!