Thursday night saw something magical. A wonderful, warm relationship was formed during the worst days in the pandemic. It led to a real-life meeting and an amazing performance before thousands of people.
Yup, Dave Grohl finally got to play with Nandi Busell.
It began in mid-August 2020 as the pandemic-weary and pre-vaccine world looked forward to the end of summer, when the anticipated spike in COVID-19 case numbers would occur. People across the web were instantly captivated by Bushell's drumming skills as a 10-year-old girl from England. In a video, she destroyed the Foo Fighters' "Everlong" version. But not before challenging Grohl to a "drum-off".
Grohl responded a few weeks later with a performance on-camera of his own and the drum-off began. The two exchanged impressive displays of drumming skills over the following weeks. We all were winners for witnessing this beautiful and pure blossoming of a friendship that was against all odds.
This brings us to August 26. A group of stage techs created a temporary riser that was adorned with a pink drum kit and presented it to Grohl at a Foo Fighters concert in California. He spoke about 2020 and the unlikely friendship he formed online, over a distance of thousands of miles. Bushell was the subject of his back-and forth, and he detailed how Bushell "whooped" him multiple times.
He said, "But of course this person inspired me so much last year, and I will tell you why,". "Because back in the day, all you could do was pick up your phone and turn on a computer to get bad news. You could see the connection between two people who have never met, making music and sharing joy and love around the globe.
"So ladies, gentlemen, would your please welcome my new friend Nandi, the most badass drummer in the world?"
The music is playing. Fan in the audience captured this amazing performance of "Everlong" Grohl was afraid to test his skills against Bushell, who is now 11. He played right along as she brought down the house.
