There were rumors of a few islands that put on musical performances playing bamboo pipe drums.  We saw a video and it quickly got on our list as a “must do item” in Vanuatu.  The problem was we were not sure which anchorage or island played this unusual performance.

We decided to have a nice dinner one night while we were anchored at Peterson Bay, Santo Island.  We headed to Turtle Bay Resort which is a lovely resort, with super delicious food and reasonable prices.   To our surprise they had a band playing so we sat back, enjoyed our dinner, and awaited the mystery band.

Imagine our joy when 11 men came in carrying bamboo pipe drums followed by 4 female dancers!  Sweet as!!!!!

Bamboo Pipes

Bamboo Pipe Drums

We were not really sure what to expect.  Will it be enjoyable and entertaining?  Can you listen to a band play bamboo pipes for more than a few minutes without being “bored”?  The answer to all of those questions is a resounding, yes, yes, and yes!

Sorry for the weird colors in the photos, but the resort had colored lights.

They had drummers that ranged in ages from 9 to 50+.  The interesting thing is that the band rotated instruments throughout the night.  They did not stay with one set of bamboo pipes.  

There were 6 bamboo pipe drums, each with varying lengths of bamboo and each making unique musical notes.  

One person played a set of bamboo pipes like a flute, blowing into each culm creating beautiful baritone or base notes. And another person played the bag (for lack of better words). Inside the bag were a lot of nuts and they would lift and squish the bag making a marvelous sound.

What do Bamboo Pipes Consist of?

The bamboo culm (stem) is latched with vines and expertly organized by its sound.  One resort guest went up and asked to play (he was not so good).  But the guest asked the performer for “e” and believe it or not he pointed to a specific bamboo pipe!

The paddles are made of used, yellow floats that are carved up, shaped and attached to sticks to pound onto the pipes.  Talk about a great way to reuse these floats that end of up littering the beaches!

One of the dancers managed to get me out to the dance floor.  Not sure my Lake girl skills were helpful at this time 🙂

Matt and I had such an amazing time!  We really thoroughly enjoyed the bamboo pipe band!  The music was played with enthusiasm and joy and was truly fantastic.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  We saw the Bamboo Pipe Band at Turtle Bay Resort on 10 August 2024.  We finally found an adventure trail that almost wipes me out – the Millennium Cave Adventure — check out the blog post here.