Batala Lancaster

Home
United Kingdom
Lancaster
Batala Lancaster

Lancaster's original samba reggae drumming band. Part of Batala Mundo. ❤️🖤 There are now over 40 such groups across the world playing the same funky rhythms.

Batala is a form of Samba Drum music which originates in Salvador de Bahia in North Eastern Brazil. Batala was formed as the European wing of Cortejo Afro (a style of Brazilian Samba) by Giba Gonçalves in Paris in 1997. Giba is the maestro of the Batala sound, which he composed after the style of his home town Salvador, in Brazil. The music has its roots in African traditional music which found it

s way to Brazil and has been incorporated in to Brazilian culture since. Using this influence, Giba formed a 60-piece drumming band, called it Batala, and encouraged anyone with an interest in his music to form their own Batala group under his name. Samba-reggae compositions with noted African influences beaten out on four different types of drum. The result is a raw, hypnotic combination of emotion, beats and rhythm. Batala's success is illustrated in its impressive CV: Glastonbury; the Notting Hill Carnival; Edinburgh Fringe and many more.

27/08/2026

This weekend, 18 of our players head to London for one of the biggest weekends on the Batala Mundo calendar - Notting Hill Carnival!

They will have three days of rehearsals with our Maestre Giba and musical directors from around the world, then on Monday, they will take part in the carnival parade as part of a 250-strong, worldwide Batala Mundo band!

Batala has been taking part in NHC for over 20 years. Here are a few photos of Lancaster players from recent years. We can't wait to see everyone in this year's brand new costume! 😍

26/08/2026

Some highlights from our final set of seven over the weekend at Kendal Calling. It was fancy-dress day, with the theme "Kendal Calling goes back to the movies", so we just had to be 101 Dalmatians.

16/08/2026

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Day 2 at Edinburgh Festival Fringe playing at Princes Street Gardens with our friends from Batala Manchester

Thanks to the generosity of our audiences over the two days we raised over £320 for LDHAS in our collection buckets and online.

📷 Thanks to Matthew Hall and Giles Inman for the photos

15/08/2026

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 That's Edinburgh Festival Fringe day 1 done! We're back TODAY (Saturday) at 11:00am at Princes Street gardens with Batala Manchester and Batala Bristol collecting for Lancaster and District Homeless Action Service ❤️🖤

📷 Thanks to Matthew Hall Ilsa Parry and Ellie Hall for the photos.

09/08/2026

We're heading back to Edinburgh Festival Fringe on Friday, and we're bringing some friends from Batala Manchester and Batala Bristol!

On Friday, we'll be doing a finale set at The Mound at 5:15pm, and on Saturday, we'll be playing a few sets in nearby Princes Street Gardens between 11:00 and 12:00 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

03/08/2026

It was our absolute pleasure to spend the weekend playing seven sets at Kendal Calling

Great crowds, fantastic energy, sunshine, and some down time to explore the festival, see some great acts and spend time together as a band ❤️🖤

Thanks so much to the festival organisers for having us back again, and to the wonderful Kendal Callers who came and danced with us, and were kind enough to seek us out and tell us how much they had enjoyed our playing. It's always a special one, and this year did not disappoint.

18/07/2026

We've been playing on the sands today for the Trinity Hospice & Palliative Care Services Colour Dash! It was great to see so many runners taking part. You all looked very colourful, and we hope you all enjoyed dancing along to our beats!

Thank you to Roy and Lucy from Batala Manchester for playing with us today, and thanks to Dave for the photos ❤🖤

13/07/2026

We had a fantastic practice tonight, led by our Maestre Giba Gonçalves as we learned the newest tune in our repertoire in preparation for Notting Hill Carnival.

We had a packed out practice room as we were joined by players from Batala Mersey Batala Manchester Batala Bangor and Batala Galêz ❤️🖤

12/07/2026

Knott End and Preesall Gala yesterday, where we played in the parade and then on the event field.

Special thanks to our supporters Sophie, Ian and Kieran for helping us keep cool in the heat and to Dave for the fabulous photos! 😎

Address

Lancaster

Website

https://batalalancaster.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Batala Lancaster posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Batala Lancaster:

Want your organisation to be the top-listed Non Profit Organisation in Lancaster?