Meet Ryan O’Connor. He is a junior at Freedom High School and spends his time striving to become a successful musician.

O’Connor is currently the drummer for the band Good Grief, an alternative rock band inspired by the likes of Weezer and Alkaline Trio. Their biggest song on Spotify currently has over 3,000 listens.

While Good Grief is a fairly new band, O’Connor has been playing drums since he was five years old.

“Music inspires me to inspire others,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor also posts drum covers on his Instagram which generate hundreds of views. He covers everything from top 40 pop such as “Sucker” by the Jonas Brothers and “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande to more intense pop punk such as “Roam” by The Story So Far and “Gone” by Knuckle Puck. 

His talent has not gone unnoticed. He was recently endorsed by SJC Drums, a custom drum company that works with Justin Bieber, Tre Cool (Greenday), Josh Dun (Twenty One Pilots), Rian Dawson (All Time Low) and many other famous artists.

“I get a bunch of perks from [this endorsement] like social media backing and artist pricing,” O’Connor said. “It’s such an honor since all my favorite drummers are endorsed by them.”

As for his current plans, O’Connor will be playing drums for Jack Hess at Celebrate Fairfax on June 7.

“[My friend] Farouk was like, ‘Yo Ryan my friend needs a drummer here’s his number,’ so I gave him a call and now I’m drumming for him,” O’Connor said. 

Good Grief will also be releasing a new single on June 7. To keep up with O’Connor and his musical endeavors as well as watch his weekly drum covers, you can follow him on Instagram @ryanoconnordrums.