Darren Beckett 3

ACM tutor Darren Beckett touring the UK & Europe throughout 2017

13 Oct 2017

This post was written more than two years ago. The content or information below may no longer be accurate.

ACM drums and ensemble tutor Darren Beckett has tours coming up with David Ford, Juanita Stein, Grainne Duffy, the Oli Howe Trio, as well as recording sessions with Howie Payne and Ethan Johns!

Darren is a highly-experienced drummer and session musician, well known for his work as the drummer for Brandon Flowers‘ solo project. Across his career, he has played drums everywhere from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Royal Albert Hall in London. He’s performed on over 30 albums and was a studio drummer for jazz label SteepleChase, recording with notable names like Lee Konitz and Rich Perry. He is relentlessly busy, touring and recording with a host of different artists when he’s not with us passing on his experience to the next generation.

Throughout September, October and November, he’s back out on the road with David Ford, touring across the UK for his new release ‘Animal Spirits’.

He’s also touring with Juanita Stein in October across Ireland and the UK supporting her new album ‘America’, and will be on the road with her in November supporting The Killers on their Irish/UK tour! Here’s Juanita Stein’s brilliant single ‘Someone Else’s Dime’:

Not content with just that, Darren is also playing Denmark, Norway and Germany with Irish blues star Grainne Duffy in October and November. And on top of that, he’ll soon be recording with Howie Payne, with legendary producer Ethan Johns.

You can also catch Darren performing a set of jazz trio gigs in the UK and Ireland with the Oli Howe trio; check out their BBC session in this video!

In addition to teaching drums at ACM Guildford and ACM London, Darren also teaches ensemble workshops on New York music and Los Angeles music with all disciplines, in which they study music from those areas through the decades and perform various well-known songs from them. Having spent 21 years in the music scene in New York, he’s well-placed to impart knowledge on the genre.

In line with our ethos of learning-by-doing at ACM, our tutors are professionals at the highest levels in the industry, so that our students are taught by those who are out there, doing it for real, pushing creative boundaries. Each and every day, they bring the most up-to-date knowledge from the outside world back into ACM for our students. Darren is a perfect example of this, and we can’t wait to catch him on some of these upcoming tours!


If you’d like to study at ACM and learn first-hand from world-class musicians like Darren Beckett, please call our Admissions Team on 01483 500 841 or visit www.acm.ac.uk/open-days/ to book a place on an ACM Open Day today.

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