Month of the Military Child: The little drummer boy

Published April 24, 2026
By Daniel Martinez
55th Wing Public Affairs

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --

Imagine standing on stage at the historic Grand Ole Opry in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee, with drum sticks in hand, as an audience of about 4,000 people loudly cheer for your live musical debut. Now imagine you’re only three years old.

Tech. Sgt. Alec Steinert, 595th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, takes a photo with his son, Remi, who was one year old at the time, while stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, May 25, 2023. Remi developed a natural music ability to play drums. (Courtesy photo)

This was the reality for Remi, a pint-sized drummer who has since turned four. Remi, son of Tech. Sgt. Alec Steinert, 595th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and Jessica Steinert, military spouse, is a natural-born drummer who has become a social media star.

“We got him a little drum set just to start drumming on. He picked it up pretty quickly, and we noticed as he kept doing it, he was holding a pretty decent beat,” Tech. Sgt. Steinert said.

At 18 months, his talent became evident. Jessica decided to share a video of Remi singing and drumming with a toy shovel and a stick to “Pocketful of Sunshine” by singer Natasha Bedingfield.

“He heard it that day for the first time. He’s already picked up the whole chorus, and he’s got the beat down perfectly,” Jessica said. “I recorded him and I posted it on TikTok just thinking, you know, my friends and family would see it.”

While her friends and family enjoyed the video, viewers soon arrived in droves to witness the tot’s musical talent. Remi’s video went viral – amassing more than four million views and leading to nearly a half million followers. Jessica continued posting videos showing Remi’s musical journey from toddler to preschooler, with later posts drawing hundreds of thousands – and sometimes millions – of views.

While his toddler years brought joy to many people, his life began with a serious health condition.

Remi was born in February 2022, in Shreveport, Louisiana, and was diagnosed with pulmonary atresia, a severe heart defect in which the pulmonary valve doesn’t form properly, potentially blocking blood flow to the lungs. After giving birth, unbeknownst to her at the time, Jessica became worried when the doctors would not bring Remi back to her. Her husband stayed with her, offering reassurance and keeping her calm. The doctors soon returned to confirm his health condition to the Steinerts.

Remi, son of Tech. Sgt. Alec Steinert, 595th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and Jessica Steinert, military spouse, is shown at six months old after having open heart surgery at Children’s Health – Heart Center in Dallas, Texas in Dallas, Texas, Aug. 20, 2022. Remi was diagnosed with pulmonary atresia, a severe heart defect where the pulmonary valve doesn’t form properly which could block blood flow to the lungs. (Courtesy photo)

“It was kind of a blur... I didn’t know what was going on but I knew it wasn’t good,” Tech. Sgt. Steinert said. “I remember it was a foggy morning when we went to the hospital. Then around 7:30 is when he came out and they didn’t immediately give him to my wife… I’m trying to keep her calm. She just had a c-section, and they were still working on her, but at the time he wasn’t in the room… My initial feelings were, I was extremely scared because I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. But we were blessed in the fact that we were in the best [Newborn Intensive Care Unit] in Louisiana at the time.”

Despite the quality medical care they received, the hospital was not equipped to provide the extensive, long-term care Remi would need. Remi had to be flown to Children’s Health Heart Center in Dallas, Texas. Tech. Sgt. Steinert had the difficult task of leaving his wife in Louisiana to recover while he flew with Remi to Dallas for his medical intake process. Jessica would join them three days later.

Even before Remi was born, music became a part of his life. His exposure to music began during Jessica’s pregnancy and would soon become a part of his healing process.

“During my pregnancy, I always played Elvis because we’re big Elvis fans,” she said. “We always played Elvis because it was just something that he was probably used to hearing in the womb. So, at four days old, he got a stent placed and he was still intubated for a while, and we just continued playing Elvis for him. We learned as time went on that ‘Burning Love’ by Elvis Presley was the only thing that kept him calm.”

At six months old, Remi had open heart surgery. His stay in Dallas for treatment lasted a total of seven months. Nowadays, he’ll visit the local hospital for regular check-ups and will someday need another open-heart surgery. For now, the Steinerts say he’s like any other child – except for his natural musical gift that he continues to develop with no formal training.

Jessica Steinert, military spouse, poses for a photo with her four-year-old son, Remi, at their home near Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., April 14, 2026. Remi is a naturally talented drummer who’s amassed a large social media following. (Courtesy photo)

Since his hospital stay, Remi has continued to improve his skills, playing more complex beats and rhythms. His TikTok stardom led Jessica to enter Remi into a contest to perform with pop band, For King + Country, at the Grand Ole Opry. He was selected as one of the top five finalists, with the winner determined by viewer votes. After receiving the most votes, the Steinerts flew to Nashville a couple of weeks later, where Remi took the stage on Dec. 16, 2025. He joined the band for a rendition of “The Little Drummer Boy.”

When Remi was asked what his favorite song was, he was shy like most any child would be. But with a drum and sticks in hand, Jessica said playing to the large crowd in Nashville hardly fazed him. The Steinerts were elated to watch their son – who not long ago needed intensive medical care – perform in front of thousands and accomplish something many musicians would envy.

“By the end of the performance, he threw his little drumsticks up,” Jessica said. “He immediately walked over to me and Alec and like, we just kept talking about how proud we were of him. You could just tell on his face, he was just happy and excited, like he knew what he did was a really big deal.”

“Words can’t really describe the amount of joy and just how proud I was of him at that moment,” Tech. Sgt. Steinert said.