Boomshaka Takes Over Ann Arbor!

Spring break is finally upon us, and that means that Boomshaka’s Tour has just begun! 

Today, 17 of the 23 Boomshaka members attending tour descended upon Ann Arbor and arrived at Nishi House. Five brave souls—Jasmin, Olivia, Lorenzo, Leo, and James—graciously accepted the task of leading the four-and-a-half hour drive from Evanston. We even made a quick pit stop in Kalamazoo to fuel up our bodies (and cars).

Once we arrived and settled in, Boomshaka went right to work rehearsing for an exciting performance opportunity. Our rehearsal was diligently supervised by the Nishis’ dog, Missy, who ensured that we were ready to make our Ann Arbor debut. 

After our rehearsal run and fueling up on pizza, we were ready to hit the stage at Michigan Theatre, which was located by a very cool graffiti alleyway. University of Michigan’s percussion performance group, Groove, kindly asked us to open for their spring show, titled Groove Walks the Plank. We performed a repertoire piece called “B17” as well as one of our ReFusionShaka pieces, “Take it Off”! 

After successfully gracing the stage, we were able to sit back and relax as we laughed along to a fabulously entertaining show. Their amazingly talented drumming and tasty rhythms blew us away.

On our way back to the Nishis’, some of Boomshaka stopped for a delicious sweet treat at Mollie’s Cupcakes in Ann Arbor. 

Boomshaka, tired out from the events of the day, did not have much energy left, but one important task remained: starting the annual tour puzzle. We will provide you with puzzle updates daily through this blog, but for now, here is our day one update. Do you think you know what it is? 

We are so excited to see what Ann Arbor has in store for us! Thanks for tuning in, and see you tomorrow!

With love and rhythm,

Boomshaka <3

Written by Jasmin Behnam, Emma Christensen, Madison Dorsey, Lauren Kee