Drum Instructor
Dixie LaRue, native of Checotah, Oklahoma, has been around music her whole life. Growing up watching her dad and mom play in bands inspired her to try many different instruments. At the age of 10, she drug an old drum set out of her closet. It was then that she discovered her love for drums and knew they were her instrument of choice.
She was in the High School Jazz Band at Checotah and played in a classic rock band with her dad. Her love for classic rock, especially Lynyrd Skynyrd, landed her on stage to perform alongside Artimus Pyle, one of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s original drummers, at the age of 15; later to work on his solo Album “Artimus Venomus”.
Dixie went on to attend college at Northeastern State University to study Music Business. There she was a member of the NSU Drumline, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo, and Orchestra. During her study there she had the opportunity to perform and record with some renowned Jazz artists such as Conrad Herwig, Henry Johnson, Bobby Watson, and many more. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Music Business in 2007. From there, she became a private drum instructor and worked with Youth “Rock Camp” groups at a local music store in Muskogee, Ok. She has drummed in multiple projects ranging from Blues, Jazz, Rock, Classic Rock, Red Dirt, Funk, Praise and Worship, and Mainstream Country and has shared the stage with many famous artists and bands.
Dixie states, “Music is an international language that speaks to everyone. It is also the glue that has held my life together when it seemed to be falling apart. God has blessed me with the gift of music and I intend to share that gift as long as I am allowed the honor to do so.”