About the band

Samba Doc emerged out of a series of samba workshops that took place in Pembroke Dock throughout the autumn of 2008. The workshops were supported through the communities first music trust fund and music on the move and were led by Fliss Fleck a samba teacher based in West Wales. The purchase of a starter kit of samba instruments was made possible through a small grant from the Communities First Trust Fund.

Since then the band has performed at over 350 public performances and several weddings.

About our name

It’s self-explanatory really: Samba – because we play the kind of drums and other percussion instruments found in a typical Brazilian samba batucada and Doc – the Welsh spelling of Dock relating to our home town of Pembroke Dock.

About the instruments

We currently have: sets of Surdo drums of various sizes: samba caixa drums, timbau and  repinique drums; a selection of smaller hand percussion instruments including tamborims,  agogo and cowbells, triangle and ganza shakers.

About us

We have around 70 active members of all ages (18+) from teenagers to pensioners, so our rehearsals provide a rare opportunity for a truly inter-generational experience. On Thursday evenings we meet in St Teilo’s Church Hall, Pembroke Dock.  We are from all over the UK with different backgrounds, and range from accomplished musicians to those with no previous musical experience.  NB: For the last two (Covid) years we have practised at a variety of outdoor locations.

About our repertoire

To date we have concentrated on mastering pieces that combine the traditional samba sound with samba reggae, raga, hip-hop and funk influences. In performance variety and excitement is created through the development of breaks of varying complexity along with call and response patterns.

We are continually developing new pieces and performance techniques to expand our range for an increasingly crowded gigs list which includes processions and parades at community events around the county, and further afield, as well as workshops and performances at larger events in the events calendar such as Pembrokeshire Fish week, Tenby Spectaculars, Fishguard Carnival, Laugharne Carnival, Pride Cymru, Bath Carnival etc. We have also entertained guests at several local weddings and many sporting events such as The Tour of Pembrokeshire, Swansea Triathlon, Ironman, The Long Course Weekend etc.

We are open to new bookings so feel free to get in touch through our contact page.