nandi bushell
Nandi Bushell Makes Beautiful Noise
It is crystal clear from the happy face beaming in front of me that London-based, 12-year-old phenom Nandi Bushell is not tired of doing press interviews. “I like them, actually,” she says with a bright smile, her father John at her side, “because I get to tell people like you about my new single and EP.” The new EP is called Into the Abyss and is her first release after years of very viral, buzz-worthy videos, already-legendary drum-offs with Dave Grohl, numerous television appearances, and more recently, her very memorable and epic performance of Foo Fighters’ “Learning to Fly” at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in London. Credit: John Bushell And the single she’s referring to is “The Shadows” (released September 30), an incredibly moving and mature song that she wrote for...
Nandi Bushell Shows Off Her Guitar Skills With a Cover of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Little Wing’
Nandi Bushell has been focusing on leveling up her drum chops this year with covers of Fatboy Slim’s “Right Here, Right Now,” Ed Sheeran and Bring Me the Horizon’s “Bad Habits,” and Rush’s challenging “Tom Sawyer.” But she took a break from that today to remind fans that she’s also an excellent guitar player and showed off her skills with a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing.” “Peace, Love and Respect! This is #littlewing by #jimihendrix, one of my favourite #hendrix tunes,” Bushell captioned a Twitter video. “I have spent this week relaxing, off school, and jamming my #fender #guitar To all #peace #love and #respect“ Watch her cover “Little Wing” below. Peace, Love and Respect! This is #littlewing by #jimihendrix, one of my favourite #hendrix tunes. I have spent this week relaxing, off ...
Watch Nandi Bushell Rip Through Ed Sheeran’s ‘Bad Habits’ Featuring Bring Me The Horizon
Ed Sheeran and Bring Me The Horizon is the collaboration no one saw coming when they linked up to transform “Bad Habits” into a hardcore song, but Nandi Bushell couldn’t be more excited. The 11-year-old shared a drum cover of the song, and as always completely knocked it out of the park. “I am #LOVING the collaboration between @edsheeran and @bmthofficial! Ed is a local #hero in #ipswich where I live!” she wrote on Twitter alongside a video of her cover. “When I heard one of my favourite bands #BMTH, was collaborating with my local hero, I had to give their tune a go! #BadHabits #EdSheeran @olobersyko end scream” Watch Bushell cover “Bad Habits” featuring Bring Me The Horizon below. I am #LOVING the collaboration between @edsheeran and @bmthofficial! Ed is a local #hero in #ipswich where I...
Nandi Bushell Finds ‘New Found Love For Rush’ With ‘Tom Sawyer’ Cover
Nandi Bushell is back! We last heard from the 11-year-old prodigy at the end of December, when she dipped her toe into dance music with an improvisation over Fatboy Slim’s “Right Here, Right Now.” Now, she’s getting back into the world of rock with a cover of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer.” “This one is for you Professor Peart,” Nandi wrote in the YouTube description. “I wanted to try a @rush song that would really challenge me. I watched an interview were the Professor said Tom Sawyer ‘remains so difficult to play’. So I thought I would give it a try. It’s actually really fun to play. I really hope I have done the song justice, Professor Pearts’ playing is incredible. I hope I got the strength and smoothness balance right. I have a new found love for RUSH now too!” Unsurprisingly, she totally nails ...
Watch Nandi Bushell Improv Over Fatboy Slim’s ‘Right Here, Right Now’
Before 2021 came to an end, Nandi Bushell gifted us with one last video. This time, instead of covering a song she tried her hand at improvising, and unsurprisingly totally killed it. In an Instagram post, the 11-year-old explained how watching Fatboy Slim’s daughter Nelly Cook DJ on YouTube inspired her to improvise a drum part over her dad’s 1999 hit “Right Here, Right Now,” marking the first time she played along with a dance song. “It was a lot of fun and nice to try something different on my musical quest,” the prodigy wrote. Watch Nandi Bushell drum along to Fatboy Slim’s “Right Here, Right Now” below. Though 2021 was a rough year for many people, Nandi seemed to thrive. Aside from continuing to wow the masses with her covers, the young rockstar also performed with Foo Fighters onsta...
Nandi Bushell Returns to the Drums for Version of Billie Eilish’s ‘Happier Than Ever’
Everyone’s favorite 11-year-old prodigy, Nandi Bushell, is back again with a brand new version of Billie Eilish‘s “Happier Than Ever.” Rather than a standard cover as she’s done with the Rolling Stones, Arctic Monkeys, Linkin Park, Pixies, and a ton of other bands, Bushell added her own flair (and a giant solo) on the drums for the title track from Eilish’s July release. “I WILL LOVE BILLIE & FINNEAS FOREVER MORE!!!” Bushell exclaimed in the caption of her Instagram post for the video. Check it out below. Of course, Eilish isn’t the first person that Bushell has taken to the drums for. Earlier this year, she knocked out Slipknot‘s “Duality” on drums, and the Foo Fighters even brought her onstage during their concert at the Forum in Los Angeles (which made our list of best concerts of t...
Watch Nandi Bushell Jam with Queen’s Roger Taylor
Nandi Bushell keeps living her absolute best life. Just days after sharing a tribute to Rolling Stones‘ late drummer Charlie Watts, the 11-year-old wunderkind posted footage of her and Queen‘s Roger Taylor jamming together. In the video, Bushell explained how she got into Queen after playing the drum part of “Bohemian Rhapsody” in a commercial at the age of 8. “To actually get to play with Mr. Taylor. Just wow!” she gushed. The pair played “Bohemian Rhapsody” together, but first they partook in a drum battle — where Taylor suffered the same fate as Dave Grohl, throwing his drumsticks in defeat while declaring “I’m done! I give up!” Watch Nandi Bushell and Roger Taylor’s epic jam session below. About a month ago, Taylor shared a photo of him shaking Bushell’s hand on Instagram. “Fabul...
Nandi Bushell Pays Tribute to Charlie Watts With ‘Gimme Shelter’ Cover
Nandi Bushell performed a solo multi-instrumental loop cover of the Rolling Stones classic “Gimme Shelter” in honor of the band’s late drummer, Charlie Watts, on her YouTube channel. Watts died in August at the age of 80. [embedded content][embedded content] “This cover is for Charlie Watts,” Bushell wrote in her YouTube caption. “I wanted to do something really special for Charlie. This is my most ambitious cover yet. Gimme Shelter is such an incredible tune. I hope one day I get to jam with The Rolling Stones too. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood – I LOVE THE ROLLING STONES!” The young internet sensation takes on “Gimme Shelter” by looping her guitar, bass, piano, drums, alternative percussion, saxophone, and even the track’s vocal refrain. Repping a Stones t-shirt and a too c...
Watch Nandi Bushell, Roman Morello Rock Out With Greta Thunberg on ‘The Children Will Rise Up’
Nandi Bushell, the 11-year-old drumming virtuoso, teamed up with 10-year-old guitarist Roman Morello (son of Tom), for a raucous anthem they co-wrote together about saving the planet before “it’s too late,” as Bushell sings. “The Children Will Rise Up” video is bookended by Jack Black, who gives his primordial devil-horned salute to the young rockers. Morello senior also shows up like a galactic deity, mouthing “That’s my son!” during Roman’s epic guitar solo. Even climate activist Greta Thunberg appears. Her brief, Leia Organa-esque cameo echoes Bushell’s message to “rise up” and insist governments around the world take action to fight climate change. “While I’m not old enough to vote, I can bring awareness to this problem,” said Bushell at the end of the video. “I hope this song emp...
Watch Nandi Bushell Interview Matt Helders of Arctic Monkeys About His Favorite Bands, Hardest Songs, and More
In the fourth and final installment of her weeklong series in which she hangs out and performs music with Matt Helders, Nandi Bushell sat down with the Arctic Monkeys drummer to conduct the very first interview of her young career. Helders and the 11-year-old rock prodigy discussed poignant topics like their top five favorite bands, the hardest songs to perform, and a whole lot more (including Bushell using the opportunity to ask Helders if she could perform on the next Arctic Monkeys album) before turning it into an impromptu jam session. After watching the duo cover tracks like ‘R U Mine?’ and ‘Brainstorm’ over the last couple of days (and “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” before that, it was nice to see them improvise and riff off of each other in their latest performance. Accordi...
Nandi Bushell and Matt Helders Cover Arctic Monkeys’ ‘R U Mine?’ and ‘Brianstorm’
The internet’s new favorite pair, 11-year old Nandi Bushell and the band’s drummer, Matt Helders, are back with part two of their four-part collaboration, taking on “R U Mine?” from Arctic Monkeys’ 2013 album, AM and “Brainstorm” with both on their respective drumkits. Bushell shared both clips to her social media, writing “Matt Helders came to my house for a cup of Tea and a Jam with me.” For “R U Mine?” Helders used Bushell’s drumkit labeled with “Peace, Respect, Love” while his sat in the background. Meanwhile, Bushell hopped on guitar, crushing through the song and its riffs. [embedded content] Both musicians kept their game faces on for “Brianstorm,” which you can watch below. [embedded content] Bushell shared in the caption that an interview with the seasoned Arctic Monkeys member is...
Watch Nandi Bushell and Arctic Monkeys Drummer Matt Helders Cover ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’
As she promised over the weekend, Nandi Bushell teamed up with Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders for a jam — which in this case is a cover of the band’s “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor.” When the clip starts, Bushell says “Believe the hype or don’t believe the hype?” to which Helders responds, “don’t believe the hype.” The interplay is a nod to Arctic Monkeys singer Alex Turner in a live video from years back. Though she’s usually been seen behind the kit, Bushell straps on a guitar and they take off from there on the three-minute instrumental jam. Check it out. [embedded content] Bushell shared in an Instagram story that the drummer visited her home for the aforementioned jams, but now there’s some more details on what’s to come from this unlikely pairing. On her YouTube page, Bu...
