Industry News — September 2026

by PAS Staff

September 18, 2026

DRUM QUEENS FESTIVAL
3^rd Annual Drum Queens Festival Held in Lagos, Nigeria
Taking place in Lagos, Nigeria on August 23^rd, the 2026 Drum Queens Festival was attended by more than 200 female drummers who showcased their drumming skills while entertaining and strengthening the African drumming community.

Temitope Odebiyi (Topsticks) is the organizer of the annual Drum Queens Festival as well as the founder of the Drum Queens Community in Africa Youth, Pastor at The Breath of Life Ministry and drum coach.

“Our goal is to empower young female drummers across Africa and help bridge the gap between talent and career,” explains Topsticks.

The event featured Thomas Garcia, product manager at Yamaha Music Gulf FZE, and was emceed by local celebrity, Precious Bassey. 2026 Drum Queens performing artists included: Cute Drummer Girl, YEMMYSTICKS, Sophia, GD MUSTICKS, Tessy, Teesticks, Ziggy, UBAd5th, P-Sticks, Veesticks, Lumi Bams, Blessing and Queen of Rhythm, Kenny Ade and the drumliners, Topdrums, Topsticks and Kelechi Unicycle Academy.

The entire was live-streamed and can be viewed on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/live/DnOQuJvzDBM

Following the Drum Queens Festival, Topsticks and the Drum Queens Community are planning outreach events at the NYSC Orientation Camps in Lagos and Abuja, where they will identify, train and support young graduates in developing their drumming. For more information, please contact Topsticks on Whatsapp at +234 802 930 2559 or by email at topsticks@gmail.com.

GUITAR CENTER
Guitar Center crowns champion of Drum-Off 2026 following national competition
Hamilton, AL drummer Jonathan Fortson earns the Drum-Off title, brand endorsements, professional gear and a $25,000 cash prize as the legendary competition concludes its first run in a decade

Pictured L-R: Guitar Center Drum-Off 2026 National Finale co-host Bill Burr (comedian, actor and drummer), finalist Mitchell Gorman, co-host Stephen Perkins (*Jane’s Addiction*drummer), Drum-Off 2026 Champion Jonathan Fortson, and the remaining finalists, shown as Fortson is named champion at The Fonda Theatre on August 20, 2026, in Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of Guitar Center.

Guitar Center today announced Jonathan Fortson of Hamilton, Alabama as the Drum-Off 2026 Champion, marking the culmination of the legendary drumming competition’s first run in a decade. First launched in 1988, Drum-Off ran for 28 years and drew more than 100,000 participants, helping provide an early platform for drummers including Tony Royster Jr. (Jay-Z, Katy Perry), Cora Coleman-Dunham (Prince, Beyoncé), Thomas Pridgen (The Mars Volta), Glen Sobel (Alice Cooper) and Ilan Rubin (Nine Inch Nails, Foo Fighters).

The competition returned this year with more than 2,600 submissions nationwide and a lineup spanning some of music’s biggest names. Hosted by comedian, actor and drummer Bill Burr and Jane’s Addictiondrummer Stephen Perkins, the National Finale featured judges including John Stamos (The Beach Boys), Tré Cool (Green Day), Adrian Young (No Doubt), Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails), Brad Wilk(Rage Against the Machine), Alex González (Maná), and Jay Weinberg (Slipknot), with performances from Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Michael Anthony (Van Halen), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Kenny Aronoff (Sammy Hagar) and more.

Fortson emerged from six finalists at Thursday night’s National Finale at Hollywood’s Fonda Theatre, claiming the championship with a standout performance that impressed judges with his showmanship, flawless fluidity, and ability to make technically difficult playing look effortless. As the 2026 Drum-Off Champion, Fortson receives $25,000 in cash, a brand endorsement opportunity, a complete pro-level drum, hardware and cymbal setup, a Roland electronic drum kit and a trip to Drumeo HQ to create original content.

“Winning Guitar Center’s Drum-Off is an answered prayer,” said Fortson. “I entered as a teenager and never made it past the district round, so when a friend told me more than a decade later that Drum-Off was coming back and ‘this is your year,’ I knew I had to give it another shot. To come back all these years later and be standing here as the Drum-Off Champion is crazy.”

Fortson is a professional drummer, musician and teacher based in Hamilton, Alabama, who began playing drums at age two and has spent 33 years behind the kit. Originally from Elberton, Georgia, he has toured throughout all 50 states and 13 countries and currently serves as a full-time staff musician and teacher at The Ramp Church. After previously competing in Guitar Center’s Drum-Off but not advancing beyond the district round, Fortson returned this year to see how far he could take his craft.

Fortson competed in the National Finale alongside fellow finalists Chris “CJ” Darden of Lillington, North Carolina; Jacob “Jake” Golden Ward of Provo, Utah; Mitchell “Mitch” Gorman of Antioch, Illinois; Caleb Robinson of Lansing, Michigan; and Michael-Andrew Tao Cornish of Stockton, California.

The road to the Fonda Theatre began in May, when drummers visited Guitar Center stores nationwide to record and submit original three-minute auditions. Competitors advanced through District Finals at 24 Guitar Center locations and Regional Finals in Hollywood, Nashville and New York City before six earned their place on the National Finale stage.

“Every day across America thousands of incredible undiscovered musicians are grinding away, working their tails off to perfect their craft,” said Gabe Dalporto, CEO of Guitar Center. “It’s our mission at Guitar Center to shine a spotlight on those musicians and Drum-Off gives great drummers a national spotlight. Today Jonathan stepped into that spotlight and knocked our socks off.”

The National Finale put the six finalists onstage alongside established artists from across rock, pop and beyond. In addition to the judges highlighted above, the panel included Pocket Queen (Beyoncé, Alicia Keys), Eric Moore II (Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves), Dave Elitch (The Mars Volta), El Estepario Siberiano, Daniel Jensen (OCDP Drums), Jared Falk (Drumeo) and Thomas Lang (stOrk).

The evening also featured Kenny Aronoff, Michael Anthony, and Phil X performing together for the first time as a power trio, along with performances by Tosh Peterson (Lady Gaga, MGK), Tim Stewart (Lady Gaga, Rihanna), Jordi Radnoti (Olivia Rodrigo), Tiara Stewart (Ashlee Simpson) and Grammy®-nominated rock band Rival Sons.

The 2026 National Finale supported the Guitar Center Music Foundation, with 15 percent of ticket proceeds benefiting the nonprofit’s work to expand access to music education and instruments in communities nationwide.

MEINL
YouTube Percussion Pioneer Paul Jennings Signs With Meinl Percussion after Online Comeback.
After building one of YouTube’s leading cajon channels, touring internationally for 25 years, with a wide range of artists, authoring the best-selling Hal Leonard Cajon Method and Djembe Method, starting and running Drum Channel Podcast alongside Don Lombardi, Paul almost walked away from drumming entirely.

Following a major resurgence on social media, Jennings now has more than 143,000 followers across platforms and over 50 million video views. He has recently signed with Meinl Percussion and says he is more energised about percussion than ever before.

Recently Paul’s primary focus has been performing popular funk, dance, pop, and EDM songs using congas, bongos, cajon and other percussion on Instagram and TikTok which have begun to attract a massive new wave of fans and followers and interest.

Jennings built an international reputation as a leading cajon educator and performer, building his website PlayCajon into a major online resource for cajon players since 2012. During the Covid-19 pandemic Paul, like many musicians, suffered greatly from the lockdown. With the wind taken from Paul’s sails he almost walked away from performing entirely.

“I had put so much into building what I do, I was burnt out and after spending lockdown mostly alone, I stepped away thinking my time in percussion was done. I transitioned into music photography, stopped making my YouTube videos and honestly thought that was it…In 2024 after a journey of reflection, I suddenly realised I had built this thing, I had put decades in, and I’d be a fool to just let it disappear into the fog. So, I started again. I made a commitment to myself to start regularly posting again, but with a new and fresh approach. Two years later, I’m signing with Meinl Percussion and I am more energised than I’ve ever been.

In May 2026, Jennings was approached by Hannes Auerochs, Global Brand Manager at Meinl Percussion, who was particularly attracted to Paul’s modern approach and its ability to introduce a new audience to the world of percussion.

Paul has been featured in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, TED ED, The NAMM Show, Modern Drummer, and has performed at Broadway NYC, Live with Regis and Kelly, F1 Grand Prix, Rugby 7s World Cup (Hong Kong), and many more.

Paul Jennings is available for interviews, podcast appearances and commentary on percussion, the creator economy, social-media growth, music education and the modern career of an independent musician.