Born and raised in Nashville, Lily began playing drums at 8 years old when her grandparents put a drum kit under the Christmas tree. She took drum lessons in the room next door to her brother’s guitar lessons, and by age 10, she had enrolled at the School of Rock franchise as the youngest member to ever be accepted into the audition-based House Band group.
Her participation at School of Rock provided countless performance opportunities, which curated her love for live music and all genres. By learning long set lists full of tunes from Led Zeppelin, James Brown, No Doubt, and Paramore (just to name a few), she explored every facet of drum performance from a young age. In the 4th grade, her favorite bands were Steely Dan, Jethro Tull and One Direction. This attributes to her ability to channel a deep connection with any piece of music that she plays.
Currently, she is a student at the University of Southern California as a Popular Music Major within the Thornton School of Music, studying directly under Will Kennedy, Patrice Rushen, Paul Jackson Jr. and a number of other renowned musicians. Their influence continues to push her to new limits and opportunities!
A clip from LJ’s first month of drum lessons!
May, 2011