Early Days
Growing up in Nashville, Lily began playing drums at just eight years old after her grandparents gifted her a drum kit for Christmas.
After practicing in the room next to her brother’s guitar lessons, she quickly found her rhythm and earned a spot at age ten as the youngest member ever accepted into the School of Rock’s audition-based House Band.
It was there that she coined the nickname “LJ” because another student in the program already went by Lily.
Lessons + Practice
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, 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.
Present Day
In 2025, she graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Music in Popular Music Performance. Throughout her academic career, she studied directly under Will Kennedy, Patrice Rushen, Freddie Washington and a number of other renowned musicians. Their influence continues to push her to new limits and opportunities!
Lily is now on tour with pop sensation Conan Gray for his worldwide Wishbone tour. Their performances have spanned from the VMAs to the BBC Live, with shows at iconic venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheater and Rockefeller Plaza.
A clip from LJ’s first month of drum lessons!
May, 2011