Nandi Lily Bushell (/ˈnændiːˈbʊʃəl/NAN-deeBUSH-əl; born 28 April 2010)[1] is a South African-born British musician, singer, songwriter, and social media personality. She became known for her drumming skills by posting cover versions of popular rock songs to herYouTube andInstagram accounts, and her online drum battle withDave Grohl received international coverage in 2020. By age ten, Bushell's videos had earned the attention of musicians including Grohl,Lenny Kravitz,Anderson .Paak, andQuestlove, and led to numerous television appearances.
Bushell was the youngest artist featured on the cover ofModern Drummer magazine and is the first-ever musician-in-residence atCartoon Network. She has performed with Kravitz and in concert with Grohl's bandFoo Fighters, and was a featured guest at thePlatinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II in London.
Bushell has been writing and recording her own music since age ten. Three of those songs, in which she performs all parts, were offered as singles ahead of her first EP,Into the Abyss, set for 2023. Its first single, "The Shadows", was released in September 2022.
Bushell was born inDurban; her mother Lungile is fromKwaZulu-Natal, whilst her father John is British.[2][3] Her family moved from Durban toIpswich,Suffolk, when she was two.[4] Bushell describes herself as "British andZulu".[5]
I was better than my dad in, like, two weeks.
—Nandi Bushell
I was extremely happy that Nandi was so good. But, at the same time, I was feeling quite inferior ... to a five-year-old.
Her parents are not musicians, though her father played in bands during his university years. When John showed his children a video forThe Beatles' "Hey Jude", Bushell was fascinated byRingo Starr's performance and showed an interest in playing the drums. Her parents bought her first drum kit as a reward for good grades at school; whilst accompanying his daughter on guitar, he saw that his five-year-old daughter had strong skills at keeping a beat.[2][3][6] At age six, Bushell began taking lessons with a local drum teacher;[7] her first week was "really hard, but then I just got it."[8] With her dad's help, Bushell began posting to social media her covers of various songs,[9] including a music video he created with an alien theme as seven-year-old Nandi drummed along to "Toxicity" bySystem of a Down.[10] She also attended jam sessions at a local pub, where she played with adult musicians as part of the Ipswich Rock Project.[10][11]
Bushell's videos on social media were spotted by established musicians, many of whom offered gifts. AfterQuestlove saw one of herInstagram videos, he sent her a custom child-sized drum kit.[2] Her cover of "Use Me" caught the attention ofAnderson .Paak, andLenny Kravitz invited Bushell to meet and accompany him during a sound check atThe O2 Arena whilst on tour in June 2019.[5][11] Kravitz and drummerNate Smith later sent Bushell a custom drum kit.[12] In July 2019, she was invited to meet with Questlove at the On Blackheath festival atBlackheath.[13] After her multi-instrument cover of "Plug In Baby" was seen byMuse'sMatt Bellamy, he gifted her one of his signature guitars.[14]
Her drum cover ofNirvana's "In Bloom" wentviral in November 2019, gaining over 10 million views viaTwitter within a week.[15]Dave Grohl, the drummer onNevermind, learned of the video from album producerButch Vig, and was amazed by her "joy and energy".[6] In August 2020, in the midst of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Bushell uploaded a cover of "Everlong" byFoo Fighters, another of Grohl's bands, and challenged him to a drum-off, calling him her favourite drummer.[6] Grohl thought it was "adorable", but his friends kept texting him, "dude, you need to step up and respond to this. You have to represent."[16] Grohl responded by drumming along with "Dead End Friends" by hissupergroupThem Crooked Vultures to return the challenge to Bushell. After she posted a video drumming to the same song, Grohl conceded defeat.[17] He subsequently performed an original song inspired by Bushell; she responded by writing and recording a song dedicated to Grohl.[6] The remote drum battle received international coverage,[18] drew millions of views, and bolstered Bushell's presence on social media: within six months, she had over 800,000 followers on Instagram and 250,000 followers on YouTube.[2]
Grohl cited their drum-off as the reason he chose February 2021 to releaseMedicine at Midnight, which Foo Fighters had been holding back during the pandemic. "I hope our record can make people feel the same [joy] as my drum battle with Nandi."[19]
During a video chat with Bushell in November 2020, Grohl invited her to perform with him and Foo Fighters on stage once they were able to tour again.[20] They met in person for the first time on 26 August 2021 atThe Forum in California, where Grohl introduced his "arch nemesis" on drums to perform "Everlong" and close the sold-out show. In her review forVariety, Jessica Shalvoy wrote that Bushell was "absolutely shredding ... [she] sounded like she'd been touring with Foos for the past 26 years", despite having met in person that same night.[21] Kelli Skye Fadroski ofThe Orange County Register called it "epic";[22]Billboard's Gil Kaufman wrote, "the band's ecstatic preteen protégé flawlessly played them home like a pro."[23]
Bushell's viral appearance led to the return in September of "Everlong" to the music charts. The 1997 song also madeBillboard'sHot Hard Rock Songs (#2),Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (#11), and Hot Alternative Songs (#17) lists, none of which existed when it was released.[24]
Bushell and Roman Morello wrote and performed the song "The Children Will Rise Up" in October 2021 to warn of the dangers ofclimate change. The music video features Roman's fatherTom Morello, along withJack Black andGreta Thunberg.[25]
In addition to drums, Bushell plays lead and bass guitar and piano; her videos include covers of rock songs in which she performs all parts using both video synchronization and aloop station.[9][26] She also plays saxophone, including for her covers of songs byBill Withers andJohn Coltrane.[14][27]
Bushell has written and recorded anEP,Into the Abyss, and performs all parts; its first single, "The Shadows", was released on 30 September 2022. The song is "quite dark", and Bushell said she wrote it to help her father and others going through depression.[28] Gen Handley ofSpin magazine called the song "incredibly moving and mature";[29] Matt Owen ofGuitar World wrote that whilst her musical inspirations are present in the "haunting, riff-heavy" song, "it also introduces us to a nuanced Nandi flair, one that showcases her approach to melody and arrangement."[30]
Bushell's live appearances in 2022 included thePlatinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II in June, where she participated in both thePlatinum Party at the Palace and thePlatinum Jubilee Pageant.[31] In September, Bushell was one of dozens of artists invited to join Foo Fighters on stage for theTaylor Hawkins tribute concert atWembley Stadium, where she performed "Learn to Fly" using drumsticks given to her by Hawkins the year before.[32] Dave Grohl introduced her as "our friend, the coolest fucking drummer in the world" and added, "she's the biggest rock star on the bill. I know we gotQueen andRush and all that shit, but we got Nandi tonight."[33] Bushell called it both epic and bittersweet to play Wembley "under very sad circumstances".[34]
Bushell released another original song, "Sweet Nightmares", in October 2023, which was produced with help fromCarl Restivo. The song is remininecent of the style ofSlipknot, whom she called "her favorite band". The song featuresJosh Brolin on some backing vocals, and who appears thanks to a common friendship with photographerBrian Bowen Smith.[35]
In March 2025, Bushell announced that she started a band called Blu Reflection with two of her friends. The band released their first single titled “The Only One” that same month.[36]
Nandi Bushell and Omar Abidi (l-r) perform in "The Book of Dreams" advert forArgos (Christmas 2019).
Bushell was one of four young musicians who recorded "Bohemian Rhapsody" for aJohn Lewis & Partners advertisement in 2018. The casting process required that she audition three times.[37]
In November 2019, Bushell portrayed a young girl performing "Don't You (Forget About Me)" in an award-winning Christmas advertisement forArgos alongside actor and drummerOmar Abidi as her father.[15][38] Creative director Danny Hunt said casting the daughter role was "actually really stressful", and he worried that the ad wouldn't work until they saw Bushell.[39] Argos marketing manager Becky Desert said Bushell was "the obvious choice" out of more than 100 children, "being upbeat, fun and celebrating the excitement of dream fulfillment at Christmas".[15][a]
Argos featured Bushell in its 2020 campaign, "Drum From Home". The adverts encouraged viewers to improvise drum kits during theCOVID-19 lockdown.[42]
That December, she made her first trip to the United States to be a guest onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show. After Bushell told DeGeneres that she wanted to learn bass guitar, DeGeneres presented one as a gift.[43]
Still age nine, Bushell appeared on the Scandinavian chat showSkavlan in 2020. During the interview,Dua Lipa invited her to go on tour.[44]
Bushell and her brother Thomas appeared as animated versions of themselves in the seventh-season episode ofTeen Titans Go!, "Jump City Rock" which premiered on 12 September 2022.[45]
Bushell plays character Emerald in the third season of Andy and the Band on CBeebies. She is the Goddaughter of the Godfather of RockBrian May, and assists the band in saving Planet Rock by posing as their new manager to help them win the Battle of the Bands.
DirectorKay Cannon cast Bushell as a drummer girl in the 2021 American filmCinderella after convincing Bushell's father that she would be perfect for the role. She has since become friends with Cannon and co-starCamila Cabello.[46]
Cartoon Network named Bushell their first official musician-in-residence in February 2021.[47] She was featured on the cover of the June 2021 issue ofModern Drummer, the magazine's youngest cover artist to date.[7] Hit Like a Girl named Bushell one of its ambassador heroes for 2021.[48]
In February 2022,Drumeo presented her with their inauguralTony Williams award for her "infectious energy and passion [that] encourages and inspires people to get excited about drumming and about music".[49] She was named the winner following an online poll.[50]
During the 7 October 2022 episode ofBlue Peter, Bushell was awarded theGold badge for her musical achievements and for "raising awareness about inequality". The Gold badge is the programme's highest honour; past winners includeEd Sheeran,Madonna, andQueen Elizabeth II.[51]
Bushell was voted #2 by readers ofMusicRadar in December 2022 for its annual list of "best online drum personalities". It was her third straight year in that spot.[52]
She is portrayed, along with 24 other woman musicians, in the bookRebel Girls Rock, the latest edition of theRebel Girls series, released in the week ofInternational Women's Day 2023.[53]
Many social movements have been started and sustained by young people. Nandi and Roman [Morello] used music as a way to share their compelling message about why we need to take action onclimate change.
Bushell lives with her parents and her younger brother Thomas inIpswich.[55] She has been involved in numerous local and international humanitarian causes including the annual fireworks display atChristchurch Park, which raises funds forScouting and other organisations.[56]
^Also in November,Simple Minds drummerCherisse Osei invited Bushell to meet up at Wembley Drum Centre;[40] Osei later posted a video of her and Bushell playing along to the same song.[41]
^abcdGordon, Jeremy (9 November 2020)."Dave Grohl, 10-Year-Old Nandi Bushell and One Very Epic Drum Battle".The New York Times.Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved15 April 2021. "[Grohl:] I watched it in amazement, not only because she was nailing all of the parts, but the way that she would scream when she did her drum rolls. ... There's something about seeing the joy and energy of a kid in love with an instrument. She just seemed like a force of nature."
^Reilly, Nick (5 February 2021)."Foo Fighters: "Our connection is beyond music"".NME. London.Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved14 November 2022. "[Grohl:] I didn't just concede because she's a 10-year-old girl. I conceded because she kicked my fucking ass! I wasn't being a nice guy—fuck no! She beat me fair and square."
^Ryan, Patrick (9 February 2021)."Smells Like Teen Spirit at 30: Dave Grohl recalls 'bananas' first time Nirvana played it live".USA Today.Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved14 November 2022. "[Grohl: The drum battle was] the deciding factor ... here's two people [who have] never met, thousands of miles apart, connecting virtually ... ultimately its sole purpose was to bring joy at a time where everyone was in desperate need of that. I realised, what are we waiting for? Why are we sitting on this album? We write these songs to be heard, whether it's in a stadium or your living room."
^Skavlan (10 March 2020).Season 23 Episode 10Archived 21 December 2022 at theWayback Machine. YouTube (Skavlan [official]). Retrieved 21 December 2022. "[Dua Lipa:] You're absolutely amazing. What do I have to do to get you to come on tour with me?"
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