News: Zildjian Young Drummer of the Year 2025 Comes to Poole
on January 17th, 2025 at 14:30The Lighthouse Poole, Sunday 16th February
The beat goes on as Lighthouse Poole hosts the Zildjian Young Drummer of the Year 2025 on Sunday 16 February. The event, now in its 23rd year, has been staged at Lighthouse since 2023 and is the brainchild of professional drummer Mike Dolbear, best known for coordinating the spectacular Pandemonium Drummers – a thousand-strong drum corps – as part of the opening ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics.
“It’s a competition because there’s a winner, but it’s much more than that,” he says. “It’s a full live show that celebrates the amazing musical creativity of young people in this country.
“You don’t need to know anything about drumming to get into it, any more than you need to know about dancing to watch Strictly. It’s a terrific atmosphere, there’s drama, great live music and a winner announced at the end.”
The judges are only revealed on the day, but previous panels have included superstars such as Nick Mason (Pink Floyd), Stewart Copeland (The Police), Ian Paice (Deep Purple), Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys), Steve White (Style Council/Paul Weller), Cherisse Osei (Simple Minds), Sarah Jones (Harry Styles), Bill Bruford, comedian and drummer Al Murray, Eddy Thrower (Busted), and the late Aaron Spears (Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus).
Previous winners have gone on to forge stellar careers in music – most notably perhaps Stormzy drummer Matty Brown – and last year’s winner Jared Agyekum hit the headlines when it was revealed he had never owned a drum kit.
“That was incredible,” says Mike. “John Stephans, the CEO of Zildjian who had come over to Lighthouse from the States to see the final, could not believe it when he won!
“The drumming community is not like any other band of musicians – you don’t get it with guitarists or singers – drummer are phenomenally supportive and inclusive.”
There are ten finalists, all under 16, each playing one of three kits arranged onstage. They draw lots for the running order on the morning of the final and are then isolated from each other’s performances with no access to phones or social media. Each finalist faces three challenges – a two-minute drum solo, followed by their response to an original piece of music recorded for the final, before joining a band on stage and playing another original track they will have heard for the first time that day.
“For me, one of the most fascinating things is seeing how the different drummers interpret the original track they’re given to work on,” says Mike.
“All they have is a click track to guide them, but what they come up with differs wildly. This year’s finalists include an out-and-out rock fiend and a total jazz head, so their instincts couldn’t be more different.
“The UK has been at the forefront of musical creativity for 60 years or more and the Zildjian Young Drummer of the Year gives music fans their first glimpse of what the next generation looks like.”
The partnership with Zildjian, the world’s oldest manufacturer of musical instruments founded in Constantinople in 1623, has been a game changer for Young Drummer of the Year. The international deal will see a US final this year with finals in seven other territories in the pipeline.
“Zildjian has given us a global reach and that’s very exciting, but it’s important that each territory will remain completely self-contained,” explains Mike.
“We love working with Lighthouse, the tech team are incredible and the way we can use the Theatre space and the whole building really suits us. Zildjian have sent members of their international events tech team to Lighthouse to shadow the guys here.”
Purchase your Tickets for the event here.
Links
https://zildjian.com
https://www.facebook.com/Zildjian
