Nandi Bushell has performed her cover of Foo Fighters‘ ‘Learn To Fly’ with drumsticks given to her by the late prolific drummer Taylor Hawkins. 

Bushell originally performed ‘Learn To Fly’ at the drummer’s tribute concert, following his death in 2022. 

Now, 14-year-old Nandi Bushell has reprised her cover for the Foo Fighters classic – with drumsticks given to her by Hawkins himself at their 2021 meeting. Hawkins gifted the drumsticks to Bushell at the Foo Fighters’ LA show, where she joined them for a performance of ‘Everlong’.

In a video, Bushell reflected on that fateful performance, calling Hawkins “amazing”. “He’s the nicest person,” she said. “He gave me these sticks, which are the sticks I performed with at Wembley.”

Bushell also spoke about Hawkins’ tribute concert, recounting: “It was a bittersweet moment, because of course it’s amazing to play Wembley Stadium, but it was why I was playing there.”

She went on to applaud Hawkins as “a powerhouse on the drums” and “a beast”, adding: “His hits are always really hard, and he’s just incredible on the drum kit.”

The drummer went viral and famous at just ten years old for her amazing drumming covers and was well known as a fan of the Foos. She would later meet them in 2021, having previously challenged Dave Grohl to a drum-off during lockdown – with Grohl admitting defeat in November of that year.

Grohl would later heap accolades on Bushell, saying watching her perform was “as inspiring as any Beatles record, any Zeppelin record, any AC/DC record, any Stones record”.

Speaking to NME for our Big Read centred around the Hawkins tribute concert, Kesha revealed that “it was an overwhelming day for everyone,” adding: “I’ve never played anything like that. I’m sure I seemed like one of the more random choices to take part, but I’ve been friends with the band for ages.

“I remember when the 2009 hit ‘Tik Tok’ first came out, I met Foos backstage at Madison Square Garden and I was definitely having some real imposter syndrome,” she continued. “Taylor, his wife Alison, Dave and Pat all really took me under their wing and reassured me: ‘You’re good; you’re home.’”