Drums are one of the instruments that tend to have far more male players than female ones, so the drumming industry has a bit of a reputation for being male-dominated.
However, there have been some incredible female drummers coming through the ranks, and most of them easily compete with male drummers when it comes to skill.
In this guide, we’re going to highlight 15 female drummers that have made a huge impact on the drumming and wider music industry, along with the gear that they all use.
Contents
- 1 Sarah Thawer
- 2 Anika Nilles
- 3 Cindy Blackman Santana
- 4 Meytal Cohen
- 5 Madden Klass
- 6 Hannah Welton
- 7 Senri Kawaguchi
- 8 Dorothea Taylor
- 9 Sheila E.
- 10 Emmanuelle Caplette
- 11 Terri Lyne Carrington
- 12 Mercedes Lander
- 13 Domino Santantonio
- 14 Nikki Glaspie
- 15 Nandi Bushell
- 16 Final Thoughts on the Best Female Drummers
Sarah Thawer
Sarah Thawer is one of the leading female drummers in the jazz world. She’s an amazing player with clean chops and intense musicality behind the kit. She draws a lot of influence from Indian music with her playing, and she’s constantly playing at different jazz festivals around the world.
One of her trademark features is the way she pulls funny faces when she’s drumming. They’re often very whacky, but they make her instantly recognizable.
She’s a tremendous soloist as well, which is a skill that you don’t see being fronted by many female drummers.
Drum Gear
- Yamaha drums
- Istanbul Agop cymbals
- Vic Firth sticks
Anika Nilles
![Anika Nilles / Nevell - "UP AND DOWN" [official video]](https://killerdrumrigs.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube-lyte/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FbF-huJEit08%2F0.jpg&fix=it)
Anika Nilles is often regarded as the best female drummer in the world. She’s one of Meinl’s biggest artists, and she has a big reputation for being a drummer with a unique mastery over complex subdivisions like quintuplets and septuplets.
You’ll mostly find Anika Nilles playing drums to music that she’s written herself. She’s an incredible songwriter, as well as a busy drum educator. She often teaches through online lessons and drum clinics around the world.
Drum Gear
- Tama drums
- Meinl cymbals
- Vic Firth sticks
Cindy Blackman Santana
Cindy Blackman is a legend in the music industry. She was a key member of Lenny Kravitz’s rhythm section for years, and she later toured with Carlos Santana. She and Santana ended up getting married after a few tours.
She started as a jazz drummer, but she plays a lot of rock as well. You can see her jazz influence coming through strongly whenever she plays, though.
She’s arguably the most famous female drummer on this list.
Drum Gear
- Gretsch drums
- Istanbul Agop cymbals
- Vater sticks
Meytal Cohen
Meytal Cohen was the first female drummer to become highly popular on YouTube. She’s from the same generation as drummers like Cobus Potgieter and Luke Holland, as they all gained fame from posting drum coversaround the same time.
She’s an incredible metal drummer, with the unique thing about her being that it always looks effortless when she plays.
While she still regularly posts drum covers on YouTube, she also gigs with her own band.
Drum Gear
- DW drums
- Meinl cymbals
- Vic Firth sticks
Madden Klass
Madden Klass is one of the newer female drummers on this list to gain a lot of fame. She’s still in her early twenties, but she’s taken the social media world by storm with her intricate skills behind the kit.
She plays a lot of progressive rock and metal, which is what makes her such a good drummer. However, she also plays plenty of gigs with straightforward pop artists.
While she still has a long career ahead of her, she’s quickly become one of the top female drummers in the drumming industry.
Drum Gear
- Ludwig drums
- Meinl cymbals
- Vic Firth sticks
Hannah Welton
Hannah Welton is another female drummer who blew up on the scene when she was very young. She started as a jazz drummer, but she’s specialized more in rock and pop in her later years. Her biggest gig was when she toured with Prince before he died.
Hannah’s drumming is highly musical, yet it’s powerful enough to make her thrive in pop gigging settings. She brings plenty of energy to the stage, which makes her a brilliant performer as well.
Drum Gear
- Gretsch drums
- Zildjian cymbals
- Vater sticks
Senri Kawaguchi
Senri Kawaguchi is one of Japan’s most popular drummers. She’s undoubtedly one of the most skilled drummers on this list, as she always pulls out the craziest patterns and combinations whenever she plays.
She primarily plays jazz fusion, and she’s been an in-demand drummer for several years in the jazz fusion world. She’s been a session drummer for dozens of albums, and she’s performed at countless drum festivals around the world.
Drum Gear
- Yamaha drums
- Zildjian cymbals
- Zildjian sticks
Dorothea Taylor
Dorothea Taylor is very well-known due to the fact that she’s an older woman who always kills it on the drums. Her drumming is highly rudimental, as she started as a snare drummer in marching bands.
She’s an amazing teacher, and she constantly gives lessons on rudiments and having good stick technique.
She has a large social media presence, and her following is easily backed by her skills on the drums. She’s become commonly known as the godmother of drumming.
Drum Gear
- DW drums
- Meinl cymbals
- Promark sticks
Sheila E.
Sheila E. is another living legend of the music industry. While she’s an incredible drummer, she actually got most of her fame as a percussionist. However, it’s a treat to see her playing drums whenever she does.
She sings and leads bands, often from a percussion rig.
She was also a long-time drummer for Prince in the late 20th century. Prince loved having female drummers in his band, and Sheila E. was one of the most prominent ones back in the day.
Drum Gear
- DW drums
- Zildjian cymbals
- Vic Firth sticks
Emmanuelle Caplette
Emmanuelle Caplette is an amazing session drummer and educator. She plays drums for a lot of highly popular French artists, and she regularly teaches through clinics and masterclasses throughout America and Europe.
One of the best things about Emmanuelle’s playing is her technique. She makes playing quick and complicated patterns look very easy, and it’s all in her hand and wrist control.
She also always looks elated when she’s playing, and that’s become a trademark aspect of her playing style.
Drum Gear
- Sonor drums
- Sabian cymbals
- Vic Firth sticks
Terri Lyne Carrington
Terri Lyne Carrington is a popular drummer in the jazz world. While many drummers today play jazz, fusion, and everything in between, Terri Lyne Carrington is a straight-up traditional jazz drummer.
She played with several of the jazz greats, and she’s one of the biggest influences on young female drummers who get into the jazz drumming style.
Terri Lyne Carrington has also led several jazz projects as the band leader and director of everything.
Drum Gear
- Yamaha drums
- Zildjian cymbals
- Vic Firth sticks
Mercedes Lander
Mercedes Lander is another female drummer that is a big name in the metal world. She plays for the band known as Kittie, which is an all-female band that plays incredibly heavy music.
She’s a power drummer, as she plays with heavy force whenever she’s behind the kit. She also has immense speed, though, and you’ll often see her play intricate drum fills that perfectly cater to certain song parts.
Mercedes Lander doesn’t get as much attention as most of the other female drummers on this list, so many people see her as one of the best underrated female drummers.
Drum Gear
- Yamaha drums
- Zildjian cymbals
- Ahead sticks
Domino Santantonio
Domino Santantonio is one of the latest drummers to gain massive popularity due to social media videos gaining a lot of traction. She became very popular in 2020 when she posted regular covers of pop songs. She’s an in-demand drummer now, playing with various pop artists that hire her.
The best thing about Domino is how much fun she makes drumming look. She has a lot of non-drumming fans because of this.
Drum Gear
- Ludwig drums
- Paiste cymbals
- Vic Firth sticks
Nikki Glaspie
Nikki Glaspie played drums for Beyoncè. That’s one of the biggest gigs any drummer will ever get. She had a whole successful career that she built before that, though.
She’s an amazing pocket drummer, and her roots are in Gospel music. She also plays a lot of jazz too. She’s a female drummer that wears many hats, and she excels when wearing all of them. That’s why she’s such an in-demand player in the music industry.
Drum Gear
- Yamaha drums
- Zildjian cymbals
- Vater sticks
Nandi Bushell
Nandi Bushell is a special mention for this list. She’s incredibly young, but she has incredible potential behind the kit. Her drumming isn’t as defined as all the older drummers on this list, but it’s still technically very good.
She’s also gained major fame because of it, along with all the wacky faces that she pulls when playing. She’s very similar to Sarah Thawer in that regard.
She’s also a multi-instrumentalist, so drumming isn’t even her main and only thing.
Drum Gear
- Ludwig drums
- Zildjian cymbals
- Vic Firth sticks
Final Thoughts on the Best Female Drummers
We’ve only looked through a small fraction of the incredible female drummers that are out there. When drum kits first came into the scene, you could count the number of popular female drummers with the fingers on your hands.
There are thousands more in the modern world, and there are plenty amazing female drummers getting the spotlight every year. While drumming is still a male-dominated thing, it’s far less so than it used to be.