Drums from Japan and West Africa, together on one Anchorage stage

An international drumming concert pairing a Japanese taiko ensemble with an Anchorage West African drumming group comes to Discovery Theatre, 621 W 6th Ave, on Saturday, August 1.

The Japanese art form is built on drums the size of wine barrels, played by performers who throw their whole bodies into every strike — a wall of sound you feel in your chest. On August 1, an ensemble that plays it, Chokoma, is flying in from Japan to share a Discovery Theatre stage with Anchorage's own Oni iLu Drum Corps and the interlocking rhythms of West African drumming.

Two thunderous traditions from opposite ends of the world, one stage — the kind of pairing that doesn't roll through Anchorage often.

The night is hosted by Tomodachi Daiko, Alaska's first taiko group, which started as a class of 30 at Sand Lake Elementary and has been building a drumming community here ever since.

The show starts at 6:30 p.m. at Discovery Theatre downtown, and tickets run $32 through CenterTix. One nice local touch: buyers are posting their seat numbers online so friends — and strangers — can choose to sit together.