This week, we are celebrating drummers with the marking of National Hug A Drummer Day. To celebrate, we dug up some country music stars of today who play the drums and do it quite well.

National Hug A Drummer Day is marked each year to honor the drummer who often takes a backseat in bands and helps the star of the show shine.

Here are some fun facts about the art of drumming:

• The average drum set has five pieces – bass drum, snare drum, two toms, and floor tom. Several cymbals are also used (crash, hi-hat, and ride).
• Drummers use all four of their limbs to play different drums.
• The first medieval drum kits were created in the 1700s after drums became the foundation of rhythm sections of large orchestras.
• Drumming and percussion, in general, are the oldest instruments (besides the voice) in human history. Drums date back much farther than any modern instruments, including the guitar and string instruments.
• Drumming is good exercise. Particularly if you are in marching band, you’re adding 10-30 pounds of weight to an intricate memorized routine while performing a challenging set.
• Drumming also brings emotional benefits, too. The brain releases endorphins after playing music, similar to a “runner’s high.” Drumming and making music, in general, also help with academic stress, build confidence, and learn how to communicate with others.
• Drumming induces deep relaxation, lowers blood pressure, and reduces stress. Moreover, drumming promotes the production of endorphins, the body’s own morphine-like painkillers, and can help control pain and those suffering grief.
• Playing the drums can help people express themselves and get in touch with their emotional state. Drumming helps us connect to our core, enhances our sense of empowerment, and stimulates our creative expression.

Let’s look at some country music stars that, once in a while, head back to play the drums.

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• Thomas Rhett

  During Thomas’ high-energy show, he steps back to play a drum solo. Before Rhett learned to play the guitar and started writing some of country music’s best songs, he studied drums in college in Nashville, where he started a band with his college buddies, the High Heeled Flip Flops, which he describes as “punk rock.” Thomas said that his music education began with drums, which is why he’s such a big supporter of the CMA Foundation, which helps schools and music education all over the country.

• Chris Janson

  Chris sits at the drums most nights in his live show, taking over for his band drummer, and his skills are pretty impressive. Not only does Janson dabble on the drums with a solo each night in concert, but he also plays a mean harmonica strapped on his neck as he also plays guitar. In June, Chris released his first album project for BMLG called The Outlaw Side Of Me. The Grand Ole Opry member had two previous albums released on other Nashville labels.

• Carrie Underwood

  In her 2022/2023 “Demin and Rhinetones” tour, Carrie showed off her impressive drumming skills during the section of her show that pays homage to the rock and roll greats like Gun N’ Roses. When she played the show in Lexington in October of last year (2022), after the show, she told me backstage that her drumming was “off” that night, although it seemed perfect to me. It made me realize that she was striving for perfection, even in a drum solo she learned for the show.

• Keith Urban

  Keith adds drumming to his many skills. In his 2023 Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood, he shows off some serious drum moves. Urban is, of course, best known as a guitar player and even created his own banjo/guitar hybrid that he calls a “Ganjo.’ He is one of Nashville’s most gifted musicians and has worked on many country albums in the studio before he released his solo Nashville debut in 1999. While he isn’t known as a drummer, with his drumming skills, we do believe he should get a hug on this special day.

• Luke Grimes

  Luke is a transplant from the world of acting and plays Kayce Dutton in the popular show Yellowstone, which stars Kevin Costner and, in part of Season Five, featured Lainey Wilson in her first acting role as a country singer named Abby. In interviewing Grimes last month, we learned that before acting and before his country music dreams started, he was a drummer in a church band as a kid, and his father was the pastor. Drums also influenced who he listened to. He told us, “I have a pretty eclectic range of influences because I started as a drummer, and some bands that have the best drummers don’t have the best songwriters.”

  While Luke does not yet play a drum solo in his live performances, he did his first live show in April of 2023.

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