Swift returns to Fredericton October 28 in support of his latest album, The Legend of Roy Black.
From his years spent making a name for myself on around the Maritimes with as a member of the Hot Toddy Trio, to his solo recordings and subsequent career as a full time musician and father, Thom Swift has never lost his love or his appreciation for the places and the people who helped make it all happen.
Originally from McAdam, New Brunswick, Swift got his first memorable taste of professional music as a kid in the audience watching a performance on the Fredericton Playhouse stage.
“I remember Mom and Dad taking me to the Playhouse when I was just a kid,” said Swift. “It was Valdy and the Hometown Band. My folks dropped me off to see the show and it was my first-ever professional show at wasn’t in a gymnasium or a legion hall and I thought, ‘Oh My God. This place is amazing’. The curtains and the stage, the lighting and the seating, everything. The whole experience just blew me away.”
“For a guy from McAdam, The Playhouse was huge for me,” he said.
Go anywhere in the country and you’ll no doubt learn that musicians in every centre in every region have a similar story, each dreaming of one day playing on the big stage in their hometown, or as in this case, their adopted hometown.
“The Playhouse was always seen as the crème de la crème for musicians growing up at that time, and I think it still is,” said Swift.
Swift’s career now spans over 25 years of recording, performing and touring, yet his New Brunswick roots remain at the centre of his journey. In June of this year he released his fourth solo album, The Legend of Roy Black, a ten track recording that finds Swift working with a hand-picked group of peers, each highly regarded in their own right. Among the likes of legendary picker JP Cormier, celebrated Pictou County songwriter Dave Gunning, and go-to multi-instrumentalist Asa Brosius. Swift was also joined in the studio by renowned bassist and former Hot Toddy Trio bandmate, Tom Easley, who will also join Swift for his upcoming Fredericton performance on October 28.
While their careers have taken them in different directions, Swift and Easley have continued to work together whenever possible, their musical friendship now reaching nearly twenty years.
“I didn’t want any drums or electric guitar on this album,” said Swift. “I wanted to take it down to its acoustic roots and so I called Tom and asked him if he’d be interested in doing this album with me and he didn’t hesitate. When I then asked how we should go about getting started he told me we were going to get together every night at his house for the next few weeks and figure it all out. That’s pretty much how it happened.”
Swift’s three previous solos recordings each won Blues Recording of the Year from both the East Coast Music Awards and Music Nova Scotia (among many other awards) but nothing compares to experiencing his rich baritone voice and high caliber guitar work in person. Don’t miss this opportunity to see one of New Brunswick’s great songwriters return to the stage that helped inspire his life in music.
“Don’t think for a second that every time I step on that stage, and I’ve the pleasure of playing it over the years quite a few times, but every time I step on that stage I feel like a little kid again,” said Swift.
An Evening with Thom Swift | October 28, 2016 | Fredericton Playhouse | 7:30 pm | Buy Tickets
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