Bergjord Boarding

November 12- 16

By: Luke

I have talked about the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) before. Back in 2017, I traveled with my alma mater percussion ensemble to this very convention. It was my first time going and it was very impactful. This year marked PASIC’s 50th anniversary and it seemed like a “can’t miss”

PASIC offers classes/performances every hour from 9-5 from Thursday – Saturday. There are multiple choices for what you want to learn/watch. There is also a large expo hall with dozens of vendors selling anything and everything you could ever want. A true percussionists paradise.

This conference is hosted in Indianapolis. The Percussive Arts Society is based in Indy and it is held inside the convention center next to Lucas Oil Stadium.

I reached out to my friends. who were on that trip before and they were thinking the same thing! The next decision was to fly or drive. Nyssa was smart and chose to fly. Dani was traveling with his university percussion ensemble and they were driving. After some waffling I chose to drive to save some money on the plane ticket. I also didn’t want to worry about how much I bought and had to take back.

I left at 4 am to hopefully get into Indy by 7pm (with the time change). GPS told me it would take just under 14 hours of solid driving. I took a break every couple of hours for myself and my car.

Rest areas on the highway were essential stops. I brought jerky, sunflower seeds, and pistachios for snacks and didn’t stop for a sit down meal along the way. There was a concert at 8pm that kicked off PASIC I was trying to catch.

The majority of this drive is a total blur. I was somewhere in Illinois and I had to gas up. This gas station is in the middle of nowhere, but all of a sudden I think I recognize a face. Dani comes running over and I can’t believe it. Some how we ended up at the same gas station. He jumps in my car and we take off for Indy! Also, it was about to be his turn to drive and he got out of it. We had a good laugh.

We eventually make it to the hotel and Dani gets to see his wife and I get to stop driving. We did not make it to the concert, but we did get signed in and grab out convention badges. After that we walked and grabbed Chick-fil-a.

We started to plan our days and wound down the night with drummer dreams in our heads.