Josh Freese gets his flowers. Drum Workshop, Inc. honored the legendary drummer with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the NAMM Show 2026, a recognition that is as overdue as it is deserved for one of the most versatile and in-demand drummers the music industry has ever produced.
The scope of Freese’s career is genuinely staggering. His credits span Michael Bublé, Nine Inch Nails, Suicidal Tendencies, Guns N’ Roses, Weezer, Sting, Devo, Katy Perry, Danny Elfman, M83, The Replacements, Glen Campbell, and Avril Lavigne, among dozens more. He has also co-written with Queens of the Stone Age, A Perfect Circle, and Guns N’ Roses, making him as much a creative collaborator as a sideman.
Most recently, Freese stepped into one of the most scrutinized seats in rock, joining the Foo Fighters for two years following the death of Taylor Hawkins. He handled it with the same locked-in professionalism that has defined his entire career. Sting put it plainly: “Any band that Josh graced with his presence on the kit was fortunate indeed.”
“Thank you to DW Drums for this incredible lifetime achievement honor,” Freese says. “My journey’s been shaped by the countless musicians, crews, family and friends who believed in me and supported me along the way.” DW founder Don Lombardi, who has known Freese since his teenage years, called the recognition well earned, citing his contribution to drummers worldwide.
From playing drums at Disneyland at age 12 to logging sessions with rock’s elite across four decades, Josh Freese’s career represents something rare: total reliability at the highest level, across every genre, every situation, every stage.