When Blake was four years old, his world of drumming opened up unexpectedly. A family who were moving away randomly gave him a Nintendo Wii console that came with Guitar Hero. We later got him the Guitar Hero drum kit, and from that moment, he was hooked.

Blake had his first proper drum lessons at school when he was five years old. At six, he received his first electronic drum kit, a Roland TD-02. Drumming quickly became part of his daily routine. He would wake up early almost every morning to practise before even having breakfast. Several months later, we upgraded to a Roland TD-17KV2, and he began taking drum lessons outside of school. This was also when he started working towards his RSL graded exams.

Blake is now studying towards RSL Grade 6. His musical tastes have evolved as he has grown. He started with Green Day and Blink-182, then discovered Nirvana, Foo Fighters and Creed. Later, he became interested in bands such as The Cure, Toto and Rush. Today, his biggest passion is Slipknot. He looks up to Joey Jordison, Jay Weinberg and Eloy Casagrande, who continue to inspire him to improve as a drummer.

From time to time, Blake also performs at local music events, including ShyneFest Music Festival. He genuinely enjoys performing in front of a crowd and loves the excitement and energy of sharing music with an audience. He also takes every opportunity to perform at events organised by his music school. Through these experiences, drumming has helped him grow from a shy boy into a confident young performer who enjoys expressing himself on stage.

Outside of drumming, Blake enjoys playing Roblox, drawing, arts and crafts, building with Lego, creating origami, and experimenting with Gravitrax. Despite his many interests, drumming remains his greatest passion. His dream is to one day have his own drum studio, an acoustic drum kit, and play in his own band.

We only discovered the UK Drum Show a couple of months ago, but Blake was immediately excited when he found out that Eloy Casagrande had attended the show previously. After following the UK Drum Show on Facebook, we learned about the Mini Stage opportunity for young drummers.

Blake would love the chance to attend the UK Drum Show, explore different acoustic drum kits, meet other young musicians who share the same passion, and hopefully perform on the Mini Stage. It would allow him to share the joy that drumming brings him with others, and perhaps even meet some of the drummers he admires most.

For Blake, being selected for the Mini Stage is more than just a performance; it’s a dream come true.