Onibana Taiko

Advance tickets: $16 At door: $21

Formed in 2016, Onibana Taiko are three veterans of Vancouver’s Taiko community whose performance presentations draw from Japanese folk rituals such as minyo and matsuri all with a touch of punk aesthetics.

Onibana is a type of flower that grows in the grave sites in Japan. Through taiko, the group seek to transform shadow elements into beauty. Their performances allows audience members to commune with our ancestors via obon dance, song, sensu (fan) cheerleading, fue, shamisen and kick-ass taiko.

The group is comprised of Eileen Kage, Noriko Kobayashi and Leslie Komori whose depth of performance and taiko experiences combine to over 100 years.

When the trio joined forces in 2016, they combined their unique skills and abilities to further push the envelope of ensemble taiko drumming by referencing unique Japanese drumming traditions, borrowing elements of Japanese folk music and classical forms such as Kabuki for inspiration and melodic interjections while re-contextualizing within a Nikkei perspective streaked with radical punk feminist aesthetics and political activism.