Introduction

In 2019, I began a journey driven by a simple belief:

The drums, drummers, and instruments that helped create the soundtrack of Rock and Roll deserve to be preserved, celebrated, and shared with future generations.

What started as a personal passion for collecting artist-used drum kits quickly became something much larger.
With every acquisition came a story.
Stories of legendary concerts.
Stories of recording sessions.
Stories of life on the road.
Stories of bands that defined generations.
Stories of the drummers whose talent, creativity, and dedication helped shape the sound of Rock and Roll.

Over the years, I have personally invested more than $100,000 assembling a collection of artist-used drum kits, snare drums, and memorabilia connected to notable Rock and Roll artists and bands including Carmine Appice, Quiet Riot, Poison, Guns N' Roses, REO Speedwagon, KIX, and others.

As the collection grew, so did the vision.
I realized this was never simply about collecting drums.
It was about preserving Rock and Roll history.

The drums are the artifacts.
The stories are the treasure.
The artists are the legacy.

Mission

The Rock and Roll Drum Museum exists to preserve, celebrate, and share the history of Rock and Roll through the drums, drummers, instruments, and stories that helped create its soundtrack.

Through exhibits, education, artist engagement, restoration programs, and community outreach, the Museum will connect the legends of Rock and Roll with future generations of musicians and fans.

A Living Museum

The Rock and Roll Drum Museum is envisioned as more than a traditional museum.

It will be a living destination where visitors can experience Rock and Roll history through authentic artist-used instruments and the stories connected to them.

Through exhibits, artist appearances, clinics, educational programs, podcasts, interviews, performances, and community events, visitors will have opportunities to engage directly with the people, instruments, and stories that shaped Rock and Roll.

The goal is not simply to display instruments.

The goal is to tell the stories behind them.

The Collection

The Museum's founding exhibits will be drawn from the Wayne Kelly Founding Collection, assembled beginning in 2019.

The collection currently includes artist-used drum kits, snare drums, and memorabilia associated with significant artists and bands from the Rock and Roll community.

Among the artists and bands represented within the collection are Carmine Appice, Quiet Riot, Poison, Guns N' Roses, REO Speedwagon, KIX, and other notable contributors to Rock and Roll history, with additional artifacts and relationships continuing to expand the collection.

Each instrument represents more than wood, metal, and hardware.

Each artifact represents a moment in music history.

A concert.
A tour.
A recording.
A career.
A story.

Together, these instruments help tell the story of Rock and Roll through the drummers who helped create it.

Stewardship

The Rock and Roll Drum Museum exists to serve as a steward of Rock and Roll history.

The Museum is committed to preserving not only instruments, but also the stories, relationships, experiences, and cultural impact connected to them.

Every drum kit, snare drum, photograph, backstage pass, tour credential, and artist story represents a piece of a larger history that deserves to be documented, protected, and shared.

We are not simply collecting objects.

We are preserving a legacy.

Drum It Forward™

The Museum is committed not only to preserving the past, but also to inspiring the future.

Through the Drum It Forward™ initiative, artists, collectors, manufacturers, music stores, estates, and community members may make tax-deductible donations of drums, percussion equipment, memorabilia, and other music-related artifacts that help preserve the stories of Rock and Roll.

Donated items will be evaluated for one of three purposes:

Museum Collection
Historically significant instruments may become part of the permanent collection and help preserve Rock and Roll history.

Educational Programs
Instruments may be utilized for clinics, workshops, demonstrations, lessons, and community programming.

Restoration and Rehoming
Donated drums that are not museum artifacts may be restored and placed into the hands of students, schools, churches, community organizations, and aspiring musicians.Every instrument has a story.

Some stories deserve to be preserved.

Others deserve to continue.

Building Community

Since 2019, this vision has been built through relationships with musicians, collectors, historians, educators, manufacturers, and industry professionals who share a passion for Rock and Roll and its history.

Through collection development, public exhibits, backline services, event support, and industry involvement, I have had the privilege of building relationships with respected artists and professionals from bands including KIX, REO Speedwagon, Quiet Riot, Ace Frehley's band, and others throughout the Rock and Roll community.

Professional drummers and industry professionals have also provided valuable insight and feedback during the development of DRUMSTAX™, an innovation created through I Like Drums LLC and currently protected under a provisional patent application.

Over the years, I have also developed relationships with respected collectors, historians, and preservationists whose dedication to documenting and protecting music history has helped inspire and strengthen this vision.

These relationships continue to reinforce and validate the mission behind the Museum.

Innovation and Sustainability

The Rock and Roll Drum Museum is supported by a broader ecosystem of music-related initiatives developed through I Like Drums LLC.

These efforts include:

Backline and stage support services
Event production
Artist partnerships
Educational opportunities
DRUMSTAX™ product development

Together, these activities help strengthen the Museum's long-term sustainability while maintaining strong connections to the live music industry.

Why Now?

Rock and Roll history is disappearing every day.

The instruments that traveled on legendary tours, appeared on iconic recordings, and helped create the soundtrack of generations are increasingly being lost to private collections, dispersed through auctions, or separated from the stories that give them meaning.

At the same time, many of the artists, technicians, promoters, managers, and industry professionals who lived this history are reaching a point where their stories must be documented and preserved before they are lost.

The opportunity to preserve these stories will not exist forever.

The Rock and Roll Drum Museum was created in response to that reality.

By preserving artist-used instruments, documenting their histories, and sharing them through exhibits, education, and community engagement, the Museum seeks to ensure that future generations can experience and learn from an important chapter of music history.

The time to preserve these stories is now.

The time to inspire the next generation is now.

A Permanent Home

The long-term goal is to establish a permanent home for the Rock and Roll Drum Museum.

An ideal facility may be a repurposed church, historic building, former school, community center, warehouse, or other adaptive reuse property capable of supporting multiple functions under one roof.

The vision includes:
Museum galleries
Rotating exhibits
Educational classrooms
Lesson studios
Artist interview space
Podcast and media studio
Community gathering areas
Drum restoration workshop
Collection archives
Event and performance space

The goal is not simply to create a museum.

The goal is to create a place where Rock and Roll history lives.

Looking Forward

The Rock and Roll Drum Museum is not beginning with an idea.

It is building upon years of personal investment, collection development, artist relationships, public exhibits, entrepreneurial innovation, industry involvement, and an unwavering commitment to preserving Rock and Roll history.

What began with a single drum kit has evolved into a vision for something much greater.

A place where the stories of Rock and Roll can be preserved.

A place where future generations can connect with the artists and instruments that helped shape music history.

A place where legends are remembered, stories are shared, and inspiration is passed forward.

Because at its heart, the Rock and Roll Drum Museum is about more than drums.

It is about preserving the stories of Rock and Roll through the instruments that survived it.

Invitation

The Rock and Roll Drum Museum is being built one story, one relationship, and one instrument at a time.

If my vision speaks to you, I would welcome a conversation and the opportunity to talk about how we can work together to preserve these stories and help bring this vision to life.

Wayne Kelly - Founder
Rock and Roll Drum Museum
I Like Drums LLC