Rob was born in South Wales, and started in brass bands at the age of 7 under the guidance of his father Ron Westacott. In 1988 he moved north to Manchester and studied music and performance at University College Salford, receiving cornet tuition from David King and David James.

At the age of 18, he joined the Black Dyke Band, spending several years there under Major Peter Parkes and David King

Rob graduated from Salford in 1991 with a BA(hons) and since then has held seats in most of the top ranked bands in the country.

He has been Principal Cornet with the Leyland Band, Brighouse & Rastrick and Yorkshire Imps, and has featured on many CD and radio recordings as a soloist.

In September 2003 Rob was appointed Principal Cornet of the Hepworth Band, and during the next 5 years led the band to victories at the Scottish Open Championships and the Grand Shield.

Rob was appointed Principal Cornet of Grimethorpe Colliery Band in February 2009, making his contest debut at the Yorkshire Regional Championships in March that year.

For his day job, Rob is a Planning Manager for the Lloyds Banking Group.