An 11-year-old drummer from Ipswich has performed live on stage with her musical hero Dave Grohl in a thrilling climax to a Foo Fighters concert in California.
Nandi Bushell described her experience as “epic” when she played on the band’s 1997 hit Everlong at The Forum in Inglewood.
Following the realisation of her dream, Nandi posted a video of her performance on Twitter, adding: “It happened!!! It was #EPIC!!! Thank you so much @foofighters!!! I had the best night ever jamming with you at @The Forum!”
She said her dad, John Bushell, could be heard screaming with delight throughout the video from his position at the side of the stage as she became the focus for thousands of fans.
At the end, frontman and guitarist Grohl led Nandi to the front of the stage where she received a standing ovation from the crowd before the rest of the band joined her.
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She thanked the band on social media, including Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Her dream was realised after she had initially challenged Grohl to an online “drum-off” from her home in Suffolk during the height of the COVID pandemic – which even led to the former Nirvana drummer writing a song inspired by Nandi.
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In their first conversation via a Zoom call, Grohl said “I feel like I’m meeting a Beatle” before the 52-year-old star invited her to one day play on stage with his band.
When Grohl had first asked Nandi to perform together, he told her she would have to appear at the end of the set “because you’re going to steal the show”.
Nandi became an internet sensation when she posted videos of herself drumming to a range of songs from different artists.
Image: The concert’s big screen shows Nandi receiving a standing ovation from thousands of fans. Pic: Twitter/@nandi_bushell
Her appearance in the US comes after a rollercoaster couple of years for the drumming phenomenon after she jammed with Lenny Kravitz before a concert by the American singer-songwriter at the O2 Arena in London.
She was just nine when she played with Kravitz in 2019 after the star had contacted her family after spotting her drumming videos online – and the experience led to Nandi meeting other famous musicians.
Nandi started learning the drums at the age of five after being influenced by videos of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr performing on hits such as Hey Jude.
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
Image: The fire gutted the main stage
Image: Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Image: Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
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The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Image: Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
An American Idol TV executive and her husband have been found dead in their LA home.
Robin Kaye was a music supervisor on the long-running reality TV series.
The bodies of the 70-year-old and her husband Thomas were discovered after officers conducted a welfare check at their home.
Both had died from gunshot wounds.
Image: Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas. Pic: Facebook
Detectives say Raymond Boodarian has been arrested in connection with their deaths.
It is alleged the 22-year-old had burgled their property while they were away on 10 July – killing the couple upon their return.
According to Los Angeles Police, there were “no signs of forced entry or trouble” at the property.
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Ms Kaye was an industry veteran – and had previously worked on shows including Lip Sync Battle and The Singing Bee, as well as several Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.
In a statement, an American Idol spokesperson said: “Robin has been a cornerstone of the Idol family since 2009 and was truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her.
“Robin will remain in our hearts forever and we share our deepest sympathy with her family and friends during this difficult time.”
Huge steel fences have been erected to prevent ticketless fans from watching the Oasis reunion tour in Manchester.
Liam and Noel Gallagher will resume their sold-out run of shows – their first since 2009 – with a performance at Heaton Park tonight, and two more on Saturday and Sunday.
While tens of thousands bought tickets for Oasis’sfirst two shows last weekend, crowds gathered to glimpse the large screens above the stage in the distance – in an area dubbed “Gallagher Hill” by some on social media.
Image: People walk past a temporary security fence erected ahead of concerts by Oasis in Heaton Park on 1 July. Reuters file pic
Manchester City Council has now said more steel fences have been erected around parts of the park to prevent ticketless fans from watching the gigs, and to protect nature in the park.
“After taking stock of how the first two nights went, additional measures have now been deemed necessary and will be in place for the next three concerts,” it said.
“The erection of the fencing has a dual purpose – both to protect the environment from further damage and to dissuade people from gathering there.
“The necessary measure means the concert will no longer be visible from this area.”
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Friday: Excited fans at Oasis homecoming gig
The fences will cover a large area of the hill within the park’s cattle field, which is being developed as a new woodland area with around 300 young trees planted.
The council added that there would be no facilities for people without a ticket, and said the event area is “double-walled with solid high security fencing all the way round”.
More than 2,000 event security staff and police officers will also be on duty around the site “to ensure both the safety and wellbeing of ticket-holders and that only those who have tickets access the concert”, it said.
John Hacking, the council’s executive member for employment, skills and leisure, also said in a statement that “unfortunately our hand has been forced in having to put these additional measures in place”.
He added: “Our advice to music fans who don’t have tickets for the concerts is to head into the city centre instead.
“The whole city is going all out to celebrate and help everyone have a good time.
“We’ve got some fantastic things going on with a real party atmosphere for everyone to enjoy, whether they’ve got tickets for the Oasis gigs or not.”