Few Instagrammers are as fun to follow as drummers—whether you play yourself or not. The joy of locking into a groove or nailing a new rhythm can be seen on their faces. And the little bursts of virtuosity can be endlessly inspiring.
Follow these Instagram accounts for some of the best drumming on the internet. And go ahead and follow us too (if you don't already) at @reverb—where we have a habit of resharing beats that are just too good to pass by. Have some other great Instagram drummers in your feed? Let us know who else to follow in the comments.
Homebase: California, USA
Genesis: I got my first drum set at 18 months old.
Drum Inspirations: Aaron Spears, Larnell Lewis, and Eric Moore.
Favorite Artists to Cover: My favorite genre is funk! I love playing songs by Earth, Wind & Fire. I like rock and gospel, too.
Current Setup: I have a Pearl Decade Maple yellow drum set and my cymbals are Zildjian. I have red and blue Remo heads. I use Vic Firth’s blue KidsSticks.
Coolest Thing That Has Happened to You: I played the halftime show at TD Garden [in Boston] for an NBA playoff game, and then I got to visit the Zildjian factory.
Homebase: New Jersey, USA
Genesis: I picked up drumming during my freshman year of high school. It is never too late to pick up a pair of sticks. If there is any advice I have to give, it is to take intimidation, wherever it may be in your life, and use it to fuel your fire to excel at your craft.
Drum Inspirations: If I had to name a few, it would be my friend Aaron Spears, along with Tony Royster, Jr. and Zac Faro of Paramore. The list is endless and continues to grow. We all can learn something from each other, especially with so much continuous content in the drumming community.
Favorite Artists to Cover: It started with All Time Low, Paramore, Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down... then came Zeppelin, Queen, Rush, Hendrix, Herbie Hancock... and then tons of pop and hip-hop.
Current Setup: I’m still rocking the first drum kit I ever bought—a Tama Silverstar.
Coolest Thing That Has Happened to You: At NAMM 2019, one individual I met said he flew 30 hours to watch one of my performances at the Roland booth! Playing drums is a way to express my true self. It is something I’ve always struggled with and is still a battle for me. However, the fact that I have had an impact on others... humbles me each and every day.
Homebase: California, USA
Genesis: I started in drumline at the age of 12, drum set at 16.
Drum Inspirations: Chris Coleman, George Daniel (The 1975), Vinnie Colaiuta, Gorden Campbell, Questlove, Daru Jones, Adam Deitch, and ... Instagram peers!
Favorite Artists to Cover: Currently been practicing to a lot of producers like Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins (Darkchild), J Dilla, Teddy Riley… Artist-wise? Kaytranada, Pomrad, Prince, Thelonious Monk, Ghost-Note, The 1975, Hillsong United, Israel Houghton, Moonchild, Chris Dave and The Drumhedz, Tye Tribbett, and random YouTube stuff. I have some friends who put me onto some Indian artists as well. Depends what I’m feeling for the day.
Current Setup: Tama drumset, SPD-SX, Paiste Master Series cymbals.
Coolest Thing That Has Happened to You: When I started to see actual celebrities follow me. It’s surreal to me, because I’m kinda just in my lab practicing, coming up with ideas and concepts. To see people digging what you do is just insane to me. Simply, I’m just grateful, and I’ll continue to sharpen my skills in my drum lab. It’s my favorite place to be.
Homebase: Illinois, USA
Genesis: I had the passion for drumming since I was two, but I didn’t actually play a drum set until I was five.
Drum Inspirations: Sheila E., The Pocket Queen, Anderson .Paak , Eric Moore.
Favorite Artists to Cover: Isley Brothers, James Brown, Missy Elliott, Michael Jackson. All kinds of artists, but old school is my favorite.
Current Setup: A couch, a baby toy, a crutch, and a practice pad. My goal is to become a producer and work with some of the best artists. Not only that, I want to open my own music school and teach children that music is all around you.
Coolest Thing That Has Happened to You: Receiving a drum set from Anderson .Paak! My main goal (at first) was to start covering music with my makeshift drumming so I could raise money for one. But I was fortunate to have one of my videos go viral for Anderson to see my work and invest.
Homebase: North Wales, UK
Genesis: I started drumming when I started high school, which in the UK was at 11 years old. I’m 27 now. Still going strong.
Drum Inspirations: If I’m honest, I’m not huge on the whole, 'musician idols' or 'musician inspiration' thing. I wasn’t inspired to play by anyone, I wanted to play for myself. The first name that comes to my mind is Thomas Lang. I don’t think I could do the stuff he does even if there were five of me. The fact that he can so effortlessly play techniques far above any mere mortal, and the fact that he can double and triple stroke roll with each foot on double kick pedals is insane.
Favorite Artists to Cover: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus, Mumford and Sons.
Current Setup: I have a DW collector’s kit in blue oyster glass, an array of snares (including the small-but-mighty 14x5 stave shell from the wonderful people at Sugar Percussion!)
Coolest Thing That Has Happened to You: The best is yet to kick in, I think… From playing around Europe in various shows, all the way through to appearing as the drummer for the house band on an excellent UK TV show called The Last Leg, which was excellent. I’m also going out to Eastern Europe later this year to appear on a hugely prestigious TV show there later this year—I can’t say too much about that now contractually, but it’s very exciting.
Homebase: California, USA
Genesis: I started playing my mom's pots and pans with spoons when I was about five or six, but actually started playing drums and taking lessons when I was eight. When I say drums I mean one drum (snare drum) and the rest of the set was a cardboard box for the bass drum, a pair of bongos for tom-toms, and a Sparkletts 10-gallon water bottle for floor tom.
Drum Inspirations: Some of my ultimate favorites are: Jack DeJohnette, Tony Williams, Nate Wood, Keith Carlock, Jabo Starks, Clyde Stubblefield, and Buddy Rich.
Favorite Artists to Cover: I usually don’t love covering songs by anyone. I used to do it more a few years ago. My favorite was covering one of Jack Conte’s songs.
Current Setup: Drums in the garage. Piano in living room. Laptop. Bedroom speakers. A couple low-end midi keyboards. Electric bass. A couple guitars. And some regular microphones.
Coolest Thing That Has Happened to You: I played a show on Easter Island recently. That would not have been possible without posting music and videos. I released a couple 90-second songs, and they led to me opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and writing a song for The Lego Movie. I thought nobody was gonna care about those songs. ("Bank Account" and "Blimp"). Also it helps me instantly connect to the kind of people I get along with the most: deep creative artists.
Homebase: Washington, D.C., USA
Genesis: I've been playing drums since the day I was born. Literally after I was delivered in the hospital, my dad had drumsticks in my hand and I just never put them down. I had my first drum set by the age of two, and I just played that drum set all day long. You couldn't take me off of it.
Drum Inspirations: My favorite drum idols are my dad ,Wesley Watkins, Jr., and my cousin Larry Dennis. Growing up, my dad didn't force drums on me, he let me find my way, so because of that I chose to watch him all the time in the basement. I would just pick up on everything he did. My cuz Larry Dennis stayed around the way and would be at the house and he was already dope at a young age, so me looking up to him because he was older, I watched everything he did also. From there, I came to love drummers like Dennis Chambers, Tony Williams, Max Roach, Bill Cobham, Chris Dave, Spank, Mark Colenburg, Cleon Edwards, Kareem Thompson, Sput... and that just about sums up everybody.
Favorite Artists to Cover: I love covering hip-hop joints like A Tribe Called Quest, Common, LL Cool J, Mobb Deep, Rapsody and a lot of others… I can't narrow it down to one particular artist. I can listen to a hip-hop track and, in the next five minutes, listen to The Lumineers, Taylor Swift, Robert Glasper or Dante Bowe... and then Hillsong within 20 minutes after that.
Current Setup: My current setup is the Tama Club Jam Kit: 18" Kick, 10'' Tom, 14" Floor Tom, Tama S.L.P Duo Birch Snare Drum, 5x14" Stewart Copeland Snare and Tama 8x14" Bubinga side snare. 14" HHX hi hats, 18" Sick Hi Hats, 21" HHX ride, 20" AAX Thin Crash, 10" Chopper, 19" Frequency Crash, and 18" AAX crash. Vater drumsticks (Recording) and Evans drum heads. Snare Drum SD Dry, and for the toms Coated EC2 Clear.
Coolest Thing That Has Happened to You: The coolest thing that has happened since I started posting videos on IG is the feedback from the artist themselves. Rapsody, BJ the Chicago Kid, Lil Duval, Pink Sweats, Chantae Cann, Todd Dulaney, and host of others saying how much they enjoyed it or I'm a dope drummer, or even sending requests, etc. My goal is not to land a gig from doing these videos, but if it happens, then... cool.
Homebase: England, UK
Genesis: I started drumming a few weeks after my seventh birthday, nearly three years ago. Before I got my drum kit I used to play on pillows and a drum pad. I still do practice my rudiments on my pillow!
Drum Inspirations: I don't have any idols, but the drummers that inspire me are Sheila E., Brian Frasier Moore, Uncle Spanky, Bennie Rodgers II, Uncle MckNasty, Uncle Matty Brown, The Pocket Queen, and my dad. I think they are all inspirational, they have their own style—and, I have met nearly all of them. They all message me and encourage me to keep going. Bennie Rodgers II invited me to my first concert at an arena in London when I was only seven years old. I got to see Brian Frasier Moore play live with Justin Timberlake in London. And after the concert was finished we showed me how to play one of his drum licks.
Uncle Matty Brown always encourages me and helped me pick my cymbals. Uncle Spanky surprised me when he came to the UK and we jammed together, and I talk to The Pocket Queen and Sheila E. on social media. It feels really amazing to know the people that I am inspired by, because that does not always happen, and it helps me to see that my dreams are possible.
Favorite Artists to Cover: My favorite artists to cover come from different genres and different times in history. I like drumming to Sounds of Blackness, Prince, BlackPink, Stormzy, Koffee, Motown, gospel music, and a lot of music from the '90s.
Current Setup: I love my setup because it looks and sounds really cool! Sometimes I have it small when I'm just grooving, and sometimes I have a really big set up. My drum kit was handmade by A&F drums, I play Sabian cymbals, I use Roland RT-MicS to add sample and electric sounds sometimes—and I use it as a mic—and I always play with my Vater drumsticks.
Coolest Thing That Has Happened to You: The craziest thing to happen to me was when Stormzy and MC Hammer reposted a video of me drumming. I was so surprised, because I was only seven years old and I had only been drumming for six months. I was in the newspapers because Stormzy and MC Hammer posted my video, and then I was asked to perform on Little Big Shots on TV in front of a lot of people. That was my second drum performance ever and my first time playing drums on an acoustic drum kit! I was playing drums on TV and I had only been playing the drums for 10 months.
Homebase: Tennessee, USA
Genesis: I began playing drums at the age of two years old. Beating on pots and pans as a young child. The age of four was the first time I received a kid drum set. Cheap kiddie drums.
Drum Inspirations: Thomas Pridgen, Steve Gadd, Dave Weckl, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dennis Chambers, David Garibaldi, Tony Williams, and David DiCenso. Just to name a few.
Favorite Artists to Cover: I honestly don’t really do covers. But if I do, I usually like to cover R&B artists. One of my favorites is Musiq Soulchild. His music is really groovy to me.
Current Setup: Pearl Drums Reference Series Drums: 10x8", 12x9", 16x16", and 14x14" (reverse floor toms); Masters Custom 14x6.5" Maple Snare. Zildjian Cymbals (left to right) : 14" K Constantinople Top/K Custom Session Bottom, 10" A Custom EFX with a 6” A Custom Splash on top, 10" K Dark Splash, 19" K Dark Thin Crash, 22" K Custom High Definition Ride, 18" A Crash, 19" K Constantinople Crash Ride, and a 20" Oriental Crash Of Doom. Evans drumheads: G2 Clears on top of toms, G1 Clears on bottoms of toms, ST Dry on snare top, 300 Hazy on snare bottom, Frosted EQ3 on batter bass, and Onyx Reso for reso bass. All Pearl Drums hardware and Pearl Eliminator pedals (double and hi hat).
Coolest Thing That Has Happened to You: My social media presence helped in me getting connected to the relationships I’ve obtained with companies I’ve always wanted to work with and beside. More opportunities such as teaching major drum clinics, going overseas to teach drum clinics, and also landing the gig of being Musical Director for the 2019 World Of Dance Tour. Most Importantly, the opportunities of being my own artist and promoting my own music as an artist. My goal is to be an artist, instead of just playing for or behind someone else. My goal is to be an individual.
Homebase: Illinois, USA
Genesis: I joined percussion in fifth grade and started on the drum set in seventh.
Drum Inspirations: There are so many incredible drummers that inspire me, but this question cannot be answered without mentioning Travis Barker. He was my first idol on the kit and is still one of my biggest inspirations. Following his career and the many projects he’s been involved with over the years has been so motivating for me, and I just really respect him.
Favorite Artists to Cover: If you scroll through my social media you’ll quickly realize that I am a giant Paramore fan and have covered multiple songs from them. I also really enjoy covering songs by electronic artists, like The Chainsmokers, because I like writing creative drum parts to mesh with the electronic drums that already exist in the track.
Current Setup: My current setup is a four-piece configuration of my PDP X7 kit. It’s pretty minimal with just a couple of crashes, a ride, and hats. I like to mix it up every once in awhile, but this is definitely what I play the most. I actually talked in-depth with Drum Magazine recently about my gear and setup in this article.
Coolest Thing That Has Happened to You: Sitting in with the 8G band on Late Night With Seth Meyers has to be the most insane thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life. There were other crazy moments leading to that one as well, my cover of “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Chainsmokers going viral, having my own Drumeo episode, thousands of people following my content and showing me so much support, but never in a million years did I think posting beats to Instagram would land me on TV.