Photo and story by Jackson Goodman / Contributing Writer
Outside the Linebaugh Public Library in Murfreesboro’s Civic Plaza, people gathered to participate in Everybody Drum Some, a community rhythm event, Friday night.
“Everybody’s got their own contribution to the music we make tonight,” said organizer Ross Lester.
Lester was an accomplished percussionist in the Memphis and Nashville areas before beginning Everybody Drum Some, a group that leads and organizes events across Middle Tennessee that afford anyone and everyone the chance to participate in a circle of drums, bells, maracas, tambourines and percussion instruments of all shapes and sizes.
“We’re here to celebrate the first day of fall,” Lester said. “We do this specific event at the beginning of each season to bring our Murfreesboro community together.”
Lester addressed the crowd, but spent the entire event in the circle encouraging others. An Everybody Drum Some volunteer named Joe said he became involved back in 2014.
“I was in a homeschool group when I met Ross,” Joe said. “We started performing in a similar way back then and after the group was over, I started taking private lessons. Eventually I was helping lead these events for the group.”
A diverse group of people from the community easily hopped between rhythms, instruments and fills. Spread by word of mouth and social media, the event attracted dozens to pick up instruments and shake, beat or tap along. Each participant became a sort of creative leader, individually adding to the sound and beat of the performance while simultaneously blending with the roar and percussion of the crowd.
As the sun set over the courthouse clock tower, the rhythmic roll of the event rose to fill the square.
“There’s a great balance between each person making their own contribution to the community of drummers in this space, just like in our city and society,” Lester said after the event.
For more information on Everybody Drum Some and their events, visit their website here.
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