Cleveland Beckford
Drums / Percussion / Guitar
Cleveland Antonio Beckford is a drummer and musician from Panama City in central America. He has a music performance degree and is currently studying an Entertainment Management degree at Collarts in Melbourne.
He started playing drums at the age of 14 after falling in love with metal music thanks to his cousin showing him the video game 'Guitar Hero’. He became obsessed with music and asked his father to get him a drum teacher. As a teenager Cleveland gained experience organizing shows and performing at his school with friends, while writing his own music. His playing focused heavily on genres like rock and metal, but he has experience with numerous music styles like blues, pop, and country.
At 18 he graduated from The Music Academy of Panama and started gaining experience working as a teacher at that same institution for 5 years, teaching a range of students from children to adults. He has also worked with several emerging artist and bands which helped him get a better understanding of drums in different settings.
Cleveland started his own band project called Watch Me Face It, a metal band which features his drumming, guitar & lyric writing skills. Cleveland has led this project to participate in numerous shows & festivals, as well as being the winner of several local band contests in Panama City, they had a feature in Rolling Stone Magazine in 2023.
Besides his own music Cleveland has played a part in numerous productions both live and in studio settings. He loves to teach and has a large focus on giving students the tools needed for them to see growth both in lessons, in practicing and also exploring their own ideas to peruse their music goals.
Cleveland is incredibly excited to join The SoundLab team, bringing his diverse industry knowledge to students of all ages, level of skill and taste in music.