Tony Royster Jr Drums May 2026
The crowd didn’t politely applaud. They erupted. The Apollo audience—famously hard to please—was on its feet before he hit the final crash.
A 12-year-old boy in a backwards baseball cap sits behind a massive Yamaha Maple Custom kit. He launches into a solo that is not just "good for a kid"—it is technically ferocious. Ghost notes, double bass rolls, and pocket grooves that would make session veterans sweat. tony royster jr drums
Then, watch a recent video of him playing with Charlie Puth on The Tonight Show . The same hands. The same confidence. But now, the wisdom of a 30+ year veteran. The crowd didn’t politely applaud
That boy was , and nearly 25 years later, he is still one of the most formidable drummers on the planet. The "Buddy Rich" Moment In 1997, Tony Royster Jr. appeared on the Eddie Murphy’s Delirious -era stage of Showtime at the Apollo . At just 12 years old, he performed a drum solo that immediately entered the hall of fame of instrumental performances. A 12-year-old boy in a backwards baseball cap
If you were a drummer coming of age in the early 2000s, there is one VHS tape (or early YouTube video) that changed your life. You know the one.