Working Drummer

On a historic night in the Winter of 2009, drummer Wes Little proved beyond any doubt that he is the nimble, adaptable, professional musician he wanted to be even before he left his small Southern home town. The occasion: the inaugural ball for newly elected President Barack Obama. The job: to back a jaw-dropping lineup of legendary talent, including Stevie Wonder, Sting, Mary J. Blige, Faith Hill and Beyonce. Through a wild variety of styles, arrangements and temperaments, Wes Little held down the groove, satisfied the most demanding stars and made the whole event bolder, smoother and better. Star-studded as it was, the Inaugural Ball was by no means the first validation of Little’s multi-faceted musicianship. For a decade in New York and recent years in Nashville, Little has been patiently taking his place among the elite session drummers, supporting major artists in rock, jazz, hip-hop and country. Wes is from Wingate, North Carolina, a small college town southeast of Charlotte, where his parents were both