Penny Larson

This week we had the pleasure of having the amazing Penny Larson as our guest. We talk about her career,  winning 'Hit Like A Girl', having two bass drums and much more. Enjoy!

Penny Larson is a founding member of Boston-based instrumental progressive rock trio Hypaspace. With the group, Penny has recorded four studio albums and toured the United States and Canada. She has in the past recorded and toured with American troubadour Bryan McPherson. Over the years she has played with many artists in an around Greater Boston and was the first call house drummer for Indecent Music Studios in Medford, MA.

For the past thirteen years, Penny has been a part of the music worship team at The Crossing, an Episcopal congregation in downtown Boston, whose founding ethic is radical welcome, and who believe worship needs the motion of music, i.e., the “Groovement.” Possessing a style driven by melody, dynamics, and passion, fueled by a powerful technical control of the drum set, Penny believes that her drumming is a spiritual act. She, like Lionel Hampton, thinks that “drumming is the best way to get close to God.”

Penny is also a dedicated drum set instructor. The daughter of a drummer, she started learning at age three, and started passing that knowledge on when she was sixteen. For over thirty years, Penny has worked one-on-one with drum set students, and for the last twenty years, she has been a staff instructor at DiCenso’s Drum Shop in Weymouth, MA. Penny has continued to study drumming, including attending Berklee College of Music from 1994-1998, studying under Ed Kaspik, Nancy Zeltsman, and Skip Hadden. In 2015, she attended the Rhythm Retreat, where she studied with Billy Cobham and Dave Weckl. Penny believes that every drummer is different and has developed a highly customizable curriculum.

Penny was a member of the Drum Corps International A-60 Division World Champion St. Francis Xavier Sancians in 1985 and 1986, was a finalist in Boston’s Best Drummer in 1990, received the Youth Concerts at Symphony Hall award from Berklee College of Music in 1998, and was the Hit Like a Girl Contest 40+ Champion in 2019. Penny recently performed at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in Indianapolis, IN, as part of the Hit Like a Girl Contest Showcase.

Penny is an educational artist for Vater Percussion.