Born in 1985, in Southern France, St�phane Avellaneda has been the official drummer for the Ana Popovic band since 2009.



At the age of five, St�phane started playing drums in a music school and then went on to study classical percussion at a classical conservatory specializing in keyboard percussion,(vibraphone, xylophone) classical snares and timpani. He has also studied independently with several European teachers in various styles such as blues, rock and jazz. During his studies he was afforded many opportunities to perform with various rock, blues and classical groups.



At 18, St�phane started his professional career with a French band called MERCY; they toured for three years in France at many blues festivals, opening for the Imperial Crowns, Jimmy Cliff, Arthur Neilson, and many others.



In 2008, St�phane joined the Ana POPOVIC band for a European tour and became the band�s official drummer at the end of that year. The band plays 100+ shows every year all around the world and shares the stage with music greats like B.B. KING, Buddy GUY, Walter TROUT, Robert RANDOLPH, Sonny LANDRETH, Jonny LANG and many more.



When not touring with Ana, St�phane can be seen recording albums, vid�os, and performing with artists such as Billy C Farlow (ex Commander Coddy), Marko Balland, and Nicole Fournier, Walther Gallay, Brian Ellington.



In 2014, Ana chose to do a 3 month tour with two drummers on stage pairing St�phane with Tony Coleman (of BB King's band). This was a huge learning experience for Avellaneda as he got to work alongside one of the blues drummer's greats.



When not touring St�phane can often be found in NEW ORLEANS where he performs and/or learns from a lot of amazing musicians like Charlie Wooton, Stanton Moore, Jeffrey Jellybean Alexander, Doug Belote, Yonrico Scott ,and Stephen Malinowki (keys).



St�phane Avellaneda proudly endorses TAMA drums, MEINL cymbals, Evans drumheads, and Pro-Mark drumsticks and Cympad.