The sound of drums will rumble across North America once again on Sunday, November 1^st as 12 Five-Star member drum shops participate in The Big Beat and raise money for worthwhile causes. Billed as the world's largest multi-city drum set event, last year's Big Beat drew 1286 drummers and about 4000 spectators in nine cities, raised more than $45,000 for music and other charities and collected 7000 pounds of food.

Each location will have a variety of fun events throughout the day, including guest appearances by major-name drummers and raffles and giveaways of percussion gear from the industry's best-known manufacturers, with top Big Beat pledge-raisers in each city being awarded special prizes. There will also be a national raffle with the grand prize winner getting a Neil Peart autographed DW logo bass drum head! But, the highlight of the day will be at 5:45PM Eastern time when all of the drummers in each of the 12 cities play the same groove in unison, something that was done last year for the first time. This feat will be achieved through a video internet connection, with the director in each city following the conductor in Seattle.Drummers of all skill levels and experience are encouraged to get involved and contact one of these participating Five-Star stores for details:

• Buffalo Drum Outlet - Depew, NY - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Columbus Percussion - Columbus, OH - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Donn Bennett Drum Studio - Bellevue, WA - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Drum Headquarters - St. Louis, MO - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Drum World - Tulsa, OK - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Just Drums - Toronto, ON - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Lemmon Percussion - San Jose, CA - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Memphis Drum Shop - Memphis, TN - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Resurrection Drums - Hollywood, FL- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Skins-n-Tins - Champaign, IL - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Stebal Drums - Willowick, OH - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• The Percussion Center - Houston, TX - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Big Beat events will benefit the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation and in some cities, the addition of a local charity, as well. Founded in 1996, MHOF donates new and refurbished musical instruments to underserved schools, community music programs and individual students nationwide, in an effort to give youngsters the many benefits of music education, help them to be better students and inspire creativity and expression through playing music. Since its inception, MHOF programs have benefited more than 500,000 students and have enabled hundreds of dedicated teachers to provide a better learning experience in school.

The Five-Star Drum Shops group is a non-profit organization of 35 independently-owned specialty percussion stores in North America that are dedicated to advancing the art and science of drumming. For more information, visit www.fivestardrumshops.com.