Billy Harrington is an Ann Arbor-based drummer, percussionist, music director, and producer of both live and recorded music. Well-established throughout Michigan as a performer proficient in musical theatre, traditional jazz, rock, and pop, he is also active as a drum technician, an instructor, and as a close, recurring collaborator of many singer-songwriters.
About.
This winter & spring of 2022, Billy will be on the national tour of THE BRITISH INVASION LIVE.
For more information and tour schedule, see:
NEWS:
From BROADWAY WORLD : "The British Invasion - Live on Stage will showcase the music and how it impacted art, fashion, literature, changing the very essence of pop culture and redirecting history. The show will focus on British music that dominated the charts and the airwaves with bands such as Manfred Mann, The Searchers, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Zombies, Freddie & The Dreamers, and Herman's Hermits along with dozens more."
As producer & performer :
Working with Artists.
From singer-songwriters to musical theatre companies to private corporate events and weddings, Billy loves to work.
Some selected credits as producer or co-producer: Sam Corbin's "Let the Fire Burn Strong" (voted #1 2019 Album of the Year by Ann Arbor's 107.one FM), post-punk duo One Blown Speaker's "Evil Twin," Chris Dupont's "Outlier," and Mark Jewett's "The Lucky One."
Creating Shows.
As a show producer and music director, Billy's multi-artist showcases "A Night for James : A Tribute to the Music of James Taylor," and "All Together Now : A Tribute to the Music of the Beatles," debuted in 2015 and 2016. In 2019, Billy also music directed Encore Musical Theater Company's Concert Series tributes to ABBA, Carole King and The Beatles.
As writer & researcher:
John Bonham's Ludwig Kit from 1969.
In September 2018, Billy would trek over to the U.K. for research on John Bonham of Led Zeppelin's first Ludwig set as an endorsee. Owned by Paul Thompson of Roxy Music, Billy interviewed Thompson for his article, "John Bonham's First Ludwig Kit : Chasing Down The 1969 Thermogloss Behemoth," published in the January 2019 issue of Modern Drummer Magazine, setting to rest elusive details of arguably, one of the most famous drum sets in rock history.
As lecturer & clinician:
Lectures on Ringo Starr.
For the 50th anniversary of the release of The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band in 2017, Billy was invited to speak on Ringo's contributions at "The Summit of Creativity: A Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band," organized and directed by world-renowned Beatle scholar Prof. Walter Everett at the University of Michigan. Other lecturers included legendary recording engineer Ken Scott, Anthony DeCurtis (U Penn, Rolling Stone Magazine), John Kovach (University of Rochester) and Kenneth Womack (writer/author), among others.
Billy has also lectured for the University of Michigan's "Foundations of Rock" class as well as upper-level seminar classes on the Beatles.
More Ringo:
Released in 2019, Billy was asked to contribute to the first collegiate textbook on the Beatles, "What Goes On : The Beatles, Their Music, And Their Time," created by Beatle-scholars Walt Everett and Tim Riley for the Oxford University Press. Billy can be seen in the text's video portion, performing and discussing the techniques of Ringo with Walt Everett.
