Rain does not have to end a performance. With the right preparation and a clear protocol, your program can handle wet conditions without damaging instruments or losing composure. The programs that struggle in the rain are the ones that have never talked through what they will do before it happens.
Before the event: make a plan that everyone knows
Your contingency plan should answer three questions before the event begins:
- Where will equipment shelter before and after the performance?
- Who makes the call to cover, and at what point?
- How do electronics get handled specifically?
Covered areas, portable canopies, and tarps should be staged and accessible before you need them. Identify covered areas at every venue you regularly visit. If there are none, bring your own.
During the performance: graduated response
Light drizzle and a downpour require different responses. A graduated approach prevents overreaction and keeps performances running when conditions allow.
Light rain: Cover electronics immediately. This is non-negotiable regardless of intensity. Continue performing with membranophones and keyboards if conditions permit.
Moderate rain: Protect keyboards under canopy or tarps if staging allows. Move electronics fully under cover. Directors should have a pre-determined signal to pause staging until conditions are assessed.
Heavy rain or standing water: Tarp all equipment. Electronics should not be in use. The performance decision is now a venue and administration call, not a director call — know the chain of command before you arrive.
Electronics receive the highest protection priority at every level. Water damage to amplifiers and electronics is expensive and often irreversible — and typically requires professional repair assessment before anything gets reconnected.
After the performance: drying protocols
What you do in the two hours after a wet performance determines whether instruments survive the season.
Electronics: Do not reconnect or power on electronics until they have had at least 48 hours of air circulation in a dry environment. A damp cable run through a wet amp connector is how equipment dies.
Drums: Wipe down all hardware with a dry cloth. Leave heads uncovered in a ventilated area. Do not store in cases while wet.
Keyboards: Wipe frames and resonators dry. Check that water has not collected inside the resonator tubes — drain them if needed. Cords absorb moisture and need time to dry completely.
Cymbals: Wipe dry and store without cloth covers until moisture is fully gone.
Protective gear: All covers, straps, and bags need to be dried before storage, or mold becomes the next problem.
The essential equipment list for every vehicle, every trip
- Tarps — enough to cover all membranophones and keyboards
- Bungee cords and tie-downs for the tarps
- Dry towels (at least one per instrument)
- Canopy tent — at minimum one, ideally two
These should live on your equipment vehicle year-round. Not in the band room. On the vehicle. The performance that needed tarps was not the one you predicted. For more on equipping and organizing your transport setup, see our marching percussion transport guide.
Practice it in good weather
Run your rain protocol during a dry rehearsal. Walk through exactly who covers what, in what order, on what signal. Students who have done it once in calm conditions will do it correctly under pressure. Students who are figuring it out for the first time in a thunderstorm will not. If instruments took damage from a wet event, our repair services cover water-related percussion work for school programs across our service area.