BY DRUM! STAFF

Everybody likes a compliment. And when you consider how drummers so often are relegated to the back of the stage, shoved aside by machines in the studio, and forced to bear the brunt of careless jokes, a little bit of heartfelt praise can pose the inspirational equivalent of a cold glass of water slaking a particularly parched throat.

There are different types of compliments, though, and each takes on a commensurate level of significance. For example, when fans approach you at the end of a gig to offer thanks for a great show, you can be fairly certain they weren’t actually commenting on the way you feather the bass drum or execute crossovers. They simply had a great time, which is a beautiful thing, indeed.

But it’s an entirely different story when a fellow drummer offers an insightful compliment. In that case, you can count on the fact that he or she studied your drumming and was impressed enough by your chops to actually tell you, which is why the annual Drummies! Artist Awards are so important to those players who receive the honor.

About the process: We first reach out to experts in the drum and recording industries to nominate finalists in each category. Once the nominations are tabulated, we take the three top vote winners and ask you, our readers, to choose those drummers and percussionists who win the ultimate prize. This year, we also offered an optional write-in candidate during the final vote, to level the playing field. At least one winner in each category was chosen by your write-in votes.

So here are the winners of the 2016 Drummies! Artist Awards, chosen by you. Congratulations to them all.

Find the percussionist category winners here.

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR: NEIL PEART

RUNNERS UP

Antonio Sánchez

Omar Hakim

Chris Fryar

It’s difficult to imagine any other drummer who might deserve the 2016 Drummer Of The Year Award more than Neil Peart. As one of the most visible and revered drumming ambassadors through his decades-long tenure with prog heroes Rush, Peart and his bandmates decided to finally call it quits and undertook their farewell tour in the past year. So what advice would he give to young drummers who aspire to reach a similar level of achievement as The Professor has during his celebrated career? He told us in last December’s issue: “The important thing is to keep striking that flint and steel, and eventually you will produce a spark.”

RISING STAR: ANIKA NILLES

RUNNERS UP

Robert “Sput” Searight

Joe Saylor

Shaun Foist

ROCK/POP DRUMMER & HIP-HOP DRUMMER: TONY ROYSTER JR.

RUNNERS UP: ROCK/POP DRUMMER


Brian Frasier-Moore

Daru Jones

Carter Beauford

RUNNERS UP: HIP-HOP DRUMMER

Chris “Daddy” Dave

Mike Reid

George “Spanky” McCurdy

JAZZ DRUMMER: MARK GUILIANA

RUNNERS UP

Kendrick Scott

Antonio Sánchez

Johnny Vidacovich

FUNK DRUMMER: STANTON MOORE

RUNNERS UP

Aaron Spears

Chris Coleman

David Garibaldi

COUNTRY DRUMMER: JIM RILEY

RUNNERS UP

Rich Redmond

Ben Sesar

Chris Fryar

BLUES DRUMMER: TONY COLEMAN

RUNNERS UP

Johnny Radelat

Richard Danielson

Chris Layton

GOSPEL DRUMMER: AARON SPEARS

RUNNERS UP

Calvin Rodgers

Gerald Heyward

Chris Coleman

HARD ROCK DRUMMER: GLEN SOBEL

RUNNERS UP

Chris Adler

Brann Dailor

Jay Weinberg

ALTERNATIVE DRUMMER: JEFF FRIEDL

RUNNERS UP

Shaun Foist

Darren King

Glenn Kotche

EXTREME METAL DRUMMER: GEORGE KOLLIAS

RUNNERS UP

Alex Lopez

Dirk Verbueren

Jay Weinberg

PUNK DRUMMER: BROOKS WACKERMAN

RUNNERS UP

Brandon Barnes

Jorma Vik

Atom Willard

PROGRESSIVE ROCK DRUMMER: MIKE PORTNOY

RUNNERS UP

Gavin Harrison

Matt Garstka

Mike Mangini

STUDIO DRUMMER & DRUM SET CLINICIAN: KENNY ARONOFF

RUNNERS UP: STUDIO DRUMMER

Matt Chamberlain

Shawn Pelton

Vinnie Colaiuta

RUNNERS UP: DRUM SET CLINICIAN