E-drums shine at Super Bowl LV

Wednesday, 17 February 2021 3:15 pm

While most eyes were on The Weeknd during the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show, drummers would have been struck with a bit of déjà vu from last year’s Brian Frasier-Moore kit – a combination of Pearl acoustics and Roland electronics.

Canadian drummer Ricky Lewis performed on a Pearl Music City Custom kit, but there was also a smattering of electronics, including a TD-50 module, a Roland SPD-SX and some Roland pads, alongside a couple of Simmons pads in a nod to the e-drum pioneer.

Lewis has been part of The Weeknd since the group started playing live shows in 2011.

In a recent interview with Reverb, he spoke about balancing acoustics and electronics. “It’s basically finding ways to blend them (acoustic sounds and samples) together.”

He notes that The Weeknd’s repertoire has drawn him “more into the world of electronics and finding different ways to bring those same songs to life”.

Lewis normally uses two SPD-SXs in his tour set-up, but replaced one with the TD-50 for the Super Bowl performance.

Last year, Roland’s new VAD506 acoustic-style kit formed part of Brian Frasier-Moore’s drum set-up for the Halftime Show.

The Super Bowl VAD506 was powered by a TD-50, rather than the usual TD-27. The drum company posted a close-up of the module on social media, with the Super Bowl patch clearly visible.