As Queens of the Stone Age continue their 2025 run of The End Is Nero world tour, Jon Theodore remains the quiet powerhouse behind the kit, never the loudest presence on stage, but often the most vital. While frontman Josh Homme commands the spotlight, it’s Theodore’s drumming that keeps the chaos contained and the energy surging night after night.
He’s been part of the Queens lineup since 2013, though it’s easy to forget, largely because he’s not one to make a spectacle of himself. But his impact? Impossible to ignore, especially on this tour. Whether ripping through “You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar” or settling into the hypnotic pulse of “My God Is the Sun,” Theodore brings a mix of muscle and mindfulness that few rock drummers can pull off.
His background with The Mars Volta is well documented, and that fusion of jazz-trained nuance and raw experimental aggression still shapes the way he plays. But with Queens, it’s more measured. There’s space in his parts, and weight in the silence. Jon Theodore doesn’t just play the beat, he steers the band’s momentum.
This tour in particular seems to highlight that even more. The setlists have leaned into the moodier cuts, pulling heavily from 2023’s In Times New Roman, an album full of shadowy textures and slow-burn buildups. It’s a perfect match for Theodore’s sense of timing. Tracks like “Emotion Sickness” feel downright cinematic when he leans into those low tom rolls, letting the tension build without rushing. And on “Carnavoyeur,” it’s the cymbal work, delicate one second, explosive the next, that gives the song its unease.
But he’s not just handling the new material. Older staples like “No One Knows” still hit hard, but there’s more shape to them now. Subtle shifts in his phrasing, slight delays, or pushes on the snare keep things from sounding locked to a click. It’s all just loose enough to breathe and just tight enough to crush.
People close to the band say Theodore’s more than just the drummer. He’s become something like the anchor, calm, focused, even when things get chaotic. And you can feel that on stage. The performances don’t feel choreographed or over-rehearsed. They move. They adjust. They react to the room. And Theodore is right in the center of that, controlling the flow without needing to announce it.
There’s no sign of a shift coming in his role, and there shouldn’t be. As Queens push through the summer and into fall tour dates across Europe and North America, he continues to do what he’s always done: make the complex feel effortless, and keep the band’s feet planted no matter how wild the setlist gets.
In a group known for evolution and unpredictability, Theodore’s presence brings something else: stability, clarity, and that rare ability to say a lot without playing too much. The kind of player who reminds you that sometimes, the best drummers aren’t the loudest ones. They’re just the ones holding it all together: beat by beat, night after night.