TILTON — Already a special, cherished group, the residents of the New Hampshire Veterans Home went up a level of coolness Monday when they got a chance to play and schmooze with a real rock star: Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen.

Def Leppard, whose beat Allen has kept since 1977, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019 and did a world tour earlier this year and has one planned for 2023, too.

Allen and his wife Lauren Monroe, who co-founded Raven Drum Foundation in 2001, have worked to “serve, educate, and empower veterans dealing with PTSD and TBI, people in crisis, and other at-risk populations” through music.