Nolan Byrd

After displaying a talent for drumming at a very early age, Nolan started pursuing a life in music. Upon enrolling at the University of North Texas in 2010 on scholarship, Nolan began his invaluable years as a student of Ed Soph, culminating in several Downbeat Student Music Awards and drumming in the six-time Grammy nominated One O’Clock Lab Band.

A year after graduating from North Texas, Nolan began attending the Manhattan School of Music, earning his master’s degree in 2017. During his time there and under the guidance of John Riley, Nolan began to establish himself as one of the more in-demand drummers of his generation. He already has performed at notable venues such as The Blue Note, The Apollo Theater, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Stone, and Smalls in addition to holding monthly residencies at The 55 Bar, Zinc Bar, and the Producer’s Club. Touring has also brought Nolan out to Los Angeles to perform at the Blue Whale and to Sweden appearing at the Stockholm Jazz Festival in 2016.

As a self-proclaimed ‘creative musician’, Nolan’s versatility as a drummer and deep interest in composition allowed him to travel to Washington DC to be a member of Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead residency held at the Kennedy Center in 2016 and to Alberta, Canada in 2015 to participate in the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music. These exclusive programs provided Nolan with the opportunities to be mentored by and perform with notable artists such as Mark Turner, Eric Harland, Billy Hart, Jason Moran, Vijay Iyer, JD Allen, Eric Revis, Wadada Leo Smith, Zakir Hussain, Becca Stevens, Harish Raghavan, Tyshawn Sorey, Carmen Lundy, and Cyrus Chestnut.

In 2015 Nolan released "Nexus", his debut album as a leader, featuring original compositions of his own that highlight his writing ability plus his creative and forward-thinking playing that demonstrates an imaginative approach to music.

In 2017, Nolan anticipates the release of works that will introduce him as a producer. Since discovering a love for electronic music over 10 years ago, it has consistently been an important outlet for creativity and individualism. Nolan is currently working on a series of remixes and a debut album entitled “MINIBEATS”, which is a collection of short electronically programmed compositions.

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