Legendary educational drumming platform Drumeo has just announced that it’s hosting its very first awards ceremony, recognizing the achievements of some of the greatest drummers of our time.
And what a great idea too! What better way to wrap up the year than by honoring the efforts of drummers who are continuing to push the boundaries within music, and be inspirations for drummers all over the world.
The Drummer Of The Year Awards is chosen by the public. That means you, me, and everyone else within the drumming community are invited to vote from the nominees Drumeo has shortlisted for each category.
There are five drummer nominations for each of the following 13 musical categories, and now is your chance to go and vote for your favorites! You have until December 25 at 11:59 pm PST to cast your vote.
Click on the image below to go to the Drumeo Awards page, and remember you don’t need to be a Drumeo member to vote, it’s open to everyone!
Drumeo’s Drummer Of The Year Awards Categories
- Drummer Of The Year
- Drum Performance Of The Year
- Drum Recording Of The Year
- Rock Drummer Of The Year
- Metal Drummer Of The Year
- Progressive Drummer Of The Year
- Jazz Drummer Of The Year
- Contemporary Drummer Of The Year
- Country Drummer Of The Year
- Pop Drummer Of The Year
- R&B/Hip-Hop Drummer Of The Year
- Soul/Funk Drummer Of The Year
- Online Creator Of The Year
Contents
Initial Thoughts on the Nominees
There is no doubt that the quality of nominees is astounding across each of the categories, which makes picking the winners tough. They are all worthy nominees and I believe it’ll be a close call in many of these groups.
Many of my favorite drummers are included in the nominations, such as Gavin Harrison, one of my top prog metal drummers, and Chris Coleman, who is without a doubt one of the best contemporary drummers on the scene right now.
Other standouts for me include Mario Duplantier, the powerhouse behind the colossal Gojira, who is at the very top of his game. With unparalleled speed, precision, and technicality, it’s no surprise he has been nominated for a whopping three categories!
Duplantier is in the runnings for Drummer Of The Year, Metal Drummer Of The Year, and Drum Performance Of The Year. I’ll bet that he’ll come away with at least one or two awards, possibly all three!
In other categories such as Pop Drummer Of The Year, there’s the incredible GRAMMY-winning Ash Soan, who plays some of the tightest and funkiest grooves around, while exhibiting such a gorgeous drum sound. As well as the legendary session cats such as Aaron Spears and Aaron Sterling.
Larnell Lewis is another drummer, who like Mario Duplantier, is deservingly nominated in three separate categories. His phenomenal drumming in Snarky Puppy has won him a GRAMMY, and he has made waves with his online presence which is growing at an exponential rate.
There are plenty of other fantastic drummers up for nomination, including the time-warping Matt Garstka, the groove master Questlove, and Emmanuelle Caplette, who is one of the leading female drummers and educators.
Full List of Nominees
Every single vote matters, so be sure to head on over to the Drummer Of The Year Awards Page and help your favorite drummer claim the top spot!
Here is the full list of the Drumeo 2021 Awards nominees below, and don’t forget that you’ve only got until Christmas to submit your votes. It only takes a minute, so click on the link and get voting now!
The voting window ends on Dec. 25 at 11:59 pm.
Drummer Of The Year
- Travis Barker
- Mario Duplantier
- Larnell Lewis
- Todd Sucherman
- Robert “Sput” Searight
Performance Of The Year
- Chris Turner – “Triggered” (ft. Thomas Lang)
- Mario Duplantier – Drum Solo (“Cyclone”)
- Matt Halpern – “Satellites” Drum Playthrough
- Nate Wood – fOUR “Addendum”
- Larnell Lewis – “The City Lights”
Recording Of The Year
- Todd Sucherman on Styx “Crash Of The Crown”
- Mario Duplantier on Gojira “Fortitude”
- Jeremy Dutton on James Francies “Purest Form”
- Justin Tyson on “R+R=NOW LIVE”
- Matt Garstka on Animals As Leaders “Monomyth”
Rock Drummer Of The Year
- Todd Sucherman
- Taylor Hawkins
- Baard Kolstad
- Abe Cunningham
- Chad Smith
Metal Drummer Of The Year
- Mario Duplantier
- Dan Searle
- Spencer Prewett
- Zev Rose
- Jay Weinberg
Progressive Drummer Of The Year
- Matt Garstka
- Marco Minnemann
- Gavin Harrison
- Jay Postones
- Mike Mangini
Jazz Drummer Of The Year
- Nate Smith
- Mark Guiliana
- Brian Blade
- Marcus Gilmore
- Eric Harland
Contemporary Drummer Of The Year
- Chris Coleman
- Yussef Dayes
- Chris Coleman
- Larnell Lewis
- Emmanuelle Caplette
- Justin Tyson
Country Drummer Of The Year
- Rich Redmond
- Eddie Bayers
- Miles McPherson
- Chris Fryar
- Billy Freeman
Pop Drummer Of The Year
- Aaron Sterling
- Ash Soan
- Domino Santantonio
- Brian Frasier-Moore
- Aaron Spears
R&B/Hip-Hop Drummer Of The Year
- Questlove
- Perrin Moss
- Daru Jones
- Rashid Williams
- Chris “Daddy” Dave
Soul/Funk Drummer Of The Year
- Robert “Sput” Searight
- Nikki Glaspie
- Eric Hernandez
- Anderson .Paak
- David Garibaldi
Online Creator Of The Year
- El Estepario Siberiano
- Domino Santantonio
- Kristina Rybalchenko
- Austin Ware
- Greyson Nekrutman
- Zack Grooves
- Dorothea Taylor
- Justin Scott
- Kristina Schiano
- Gabe Helguera